Reduced striatal dopamine transporters in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. Comparison with Parkinson's disease and controls.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is characterized by complex behaviour during REM sleep. The aetiology of this disorder is still unknown, but a recent study showed an association between RBD and Parkinson's disease. We therefore studied striatal postsynaptic dopamine D2 receptor density with 123I-2-hydroxy-3-iodo-6-methoxy-(1-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinylmethyl ) benzamide ([123I]IBZM) and the striatal presynaptic dopamine transporter with (N)-(3-iodopropene-2-yl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-chlorop henyl) tropane ([123I]IPT) using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with idiopathic RBD. We compared the [123I]IPT-SPECT results of five patients with polysomnographically confirmed idiopathic RBD with the [123I]IPT-SPECTs of seven age- and sex-matched controls without a history of sleep disorders, and of 14 patients with Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage I). All RBD patients had significantly reduced striatal [123I]IPT binding compared with the controls (RBD: right, 2.94 +/- 0.32, left, 3.03 +/- 0.41; controls: right, 4.41 +/- 0.17, left, 4.34 +/- 0.21; P = 0.003), but significantly higher striatal [123I]IPT binding compared with the striatum contralateral to the symptomatic body side of the Parkinson's disease patients (Parkinson's disease: ipsilateral, 3.17 +/- 0.36, P = 0.298; contralateral, 2.51 +/- 0.31, P = 0.019). Uptake of [123I]IBZM was not significantly different in the RBD group compared with the controls. This study demonstrates that [123I]IPT-SPECT is a useful diagnostic tool in RBD and that reduced striatal dopamine transporters may be a pathophysiological mechanism of idiopathic RBD. (Results are given as mean +/- standard deviation.)