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Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 42168223 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-026-01397-6

Genetic associations between post-traumatic stress disorder and REM-sleep behavior disorder.

NPJ Parkinsons Dis

Authors: Morvarid Ghamgosar Shahkhali, Lang Liu, Mohammad H Ghamgosar Shahkhali, Eric Yu, Farnaz Asayesh, Jamil Ahmad, Meron Teferra, Isabelle Arnulf, Pauline Dodet, Yo-El Ju, Michele T M Hu, Jacques Y Montplaisir, Jean-François Gagnon, Alex Desautels, Abubaker Ibrahim, Ambra Stefani, Birgit Högl, Merve Aktan-Süzgün, Alex Iranzo, Mónica Serradell, Angelica Montini, Gerard Maya, Carles Gaig, Gian Luigi Gigli, Mariarosaria Valente, Francesco Janes, Andrea Bernardini, Yves Dauvilliers, Karel Sonka, David Kemlink, Petr Dusek, Michael Sommerauer, Gültekin Tamgüney, Michela Figorilli, Monica Puligheddu, Valerie Cochen De Cock, Wolfgang Oertel, Annette Janzen, Elena Antelmi, Brit Mollenhauer, Friederike Sixel-Doring, Michele Terzaghi, Giuseppe Fiamingo, Matej Skorvanek, Kristina Kulcsarova, Beatriz Abril, Luigi Ferini-Strambi, Jitka Bušková, Beatrice Orso, Pietro Mattioli … and 11 other authors

Affiliations

  • The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Computer Engineering, Ahrar Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Rasht, Iran.
  • Sleep Clinic, Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, APHP-Sorbonne University and Paris Brain institute, Paris, France.
  • Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
  • Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
  • Centre d'Études Avancées en Médecine du Sommeil, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Psychiatry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
  • Department of Neurology, Sleep Disorders Clinic, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
  • Neurology Service, Sleep Centre, Hospital Clínic Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERNED: CB06/05/0018-ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain.
  • Department of Head, Neck and Neurosciences, Clinical Neurology Unit, University Hospital of Udine, Udine, Italy.
  • Department of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
  • National Reference Centre for Orphan Diseases, Narcolepsy-Rare Hypersomnias, Sleep Unit, Department of Neurology, CHU Montpellier, Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier INM, Univ Montpellier, INSERM, Montpellier, France.
  • Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
  • Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
  • Center for Neurology, Department of Parkinson, Sleep, and Movement Disorders, University Hospital of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
  • Institute of Biological Information Processing-Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
  • Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Düsseldorf, Germany.
  • Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, Sleep Disorder Research Center, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
  • Sleep and Neurology Unit, Beau Soleil Clinic, Montpellier, France.
  • EuroMov Digital Health in Motion, Univ Montpellier, IMT Mines Ales, Montpellier, France.
  • Department of Neurology, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany.
  • AOVR, Verona, Italy.
  • DIMI Department of Engineering and Medicine of Innovation, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
  • Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
  • Paracelsus-Elena-Klinik, Kassel, Germany.
  • Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
  • Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.
  • Department of Neurology, University Hospital of L. Pasteur, Kosice, Slovakia.
  • Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, P. J. Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia.
  • Sleep Disorder Unit, Carémeau Hospital, University Hospital of Nîmes, Nîmes, France.
  • Department of Neurological Sciences, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
  • Department of Sleep Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic.
  • Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Department of Neuroscience (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
  • IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.

Abstract

Isolated/idiopathic rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is, in most cases, an early form of α -synuclein-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Clinical reports suggest that iRBD is more common in individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) compared to those without PTSD. We conducted polygenic risk score (PRS), genetic correlation, and Mendelian randomization analyses to explore potential genetic and/or causal associations between PTSD and iRBD. Dopamine transporter imaging binding status was also examined in iRBD patients with (N = 6) and without PTSD (N = 32). While not supporting a causal relationship, genetic analyses revealed a significant association between PTSD and iRBD, consistent with the exploratory imaging substudy. These findings suggest that individuals genetically at risk for PTSD may also be at higher risk for iRBD. Further investigation of iRBD in individuals with PTSD may help inform potential neurodegenerative risk.

MeSH

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Rem Sleep Behavior Disorder, Sleep, Stress, Physiological, Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Sleep, Rem