Publications by authors named "Jacques Y Montplaisir"

Introduction: The limbic system is critical for memory function and degenerates early in the Alzheimer's disease continuum. Whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with alterations in the limbic white matter tracts remains understudied.

Methods: Polysomnography, neurocognitive assessment, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed in 126 individuals aged 55-86 years, including 70 cognitively unimpaired participants and 56 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

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While commonly treated as a uniform state in practice, rapid eye movement sleep contains two distinct microstructures-phasic (presence of rapid eye movement) and tonic (no rapid eye movement). This study aims to identify technical challenges during rapid eye movement sleep microstructure visual classification in patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, and to propose solutions to enhance reliability between scorers. Fifty-seven sleep recordings were randomly allocated into three subsequent batches (n = 10, 13 and 34) for scoring.

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  • Since 2014, there has been more public awareness about isolated/idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) in Montreal, aiming to help people recognize symptoms sooner.
  • A study compared two groups of iRBD patients from different time periods (2004-2013 and 2014-2022) and found that patients presenting in the earlier group experienced faster phenoconversion (progression to a more severe form of the disorder).
  • The increase in self-referrals in the later period contributed to a slower rate of phenoconversion, suggesting that heightened awareness leads to earlier diagnosis but longer survival without severe symptoms.
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  • Isolated/idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a key early indicator of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD), allowing for the observation of cognitive decline prior to dementia onset.
  • A study with 754 iRBD participants utilized annual neuropsychological assessments to identify cognitive variables predictive of dementia, revealing that attention and executive function were particularly telling.
  • Findings indicate that cognitive decline starts as much as 10 years before the onset of noticeable dementia, with specific declines in attention, executive function, and verbal memory serving as important indicators.
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  • A study investigated the relationship between the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus and synucleinopathies, specifically Lewy body dementia (LBD) and isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), which are linked to neuroinflammation.
  • It was found that the HLA-DRB1*11:01 allele was significantly associated with iRBD, while several other alleles showed varying associations.
  • The results imply that the HLA locus may have distinct roles depending on the type of synucleinopathy being examined.
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  • NPC1 is a gene that encodes a protein crucial for cholesterol transport in lysosomes, and mutations in this gene can cause Niemann-Pick disease type C, a lysosomal storage disorder.
  • This study investigated the potential link between NPC1 variants and several alpha synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder, using data from multiple cohorts of individuals of European descent.
  • The results showed that neither common nor rare NPC1 variants were associated with these neurodegenerative disorders, indicating that NPC1 mutations likely do not significantly impact the development of alpha synucleinopathies.
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Sleep plays a fundamental role in brain development and resultant functions. The aim was to verify whether nocturnal sleep duration during early childhood has long-term associations with academic achievement at age 10 years. The present study is part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a representative cohort of infants born in 1997-1998 in the province of Quebec, Canada.

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The neurodegenerative synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, are characterized by a typically lengthy prodromal period of progressive subclinical motor and non-motor manifestations. Among these, idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder is a powerful early predictor of eventual phenoconversion, and therefore represents a critical opportunity to intervene with neuroprotective therapy. To inform the design of randomized trials, it is essential to study the natural progression of clinical markers during the prodromal stages of disease in order to establish optimal clinical end points.

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  • - The study investigates the role of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), and Parkinson's disease (PD), highlighting the genetic and neuroinflammatory links between these synucleinopathies.
  • - Researchers performed genetic analyses using data from over 1,000 iRBD patients and 2,600 LBD patients to identify associations between specific HLA alleles and disease susceptibility, finding strong links for certain alleles in iRBD but not in LBD.
  • - The results indicate a unique association of the HLA allele *11:01 with iRBD, suggesting that the genetic factors may differ between these
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  • * A genome-wide association study identified five genetic risk loci for RBD near specific genes (SNCA, GBA, TMEM175, INPP5F, and SCARB2), suggesting a genetic basis for the disorder.
  • * Further analysis indicates that certain genes, like SNCA-AS1, show different expression levels in various brain regions affected by RBD, paving the way for recognizing RBD as a distinct subtype of alpha-synucleinopathy for potential early interventions.
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Medial temporal structures, namely the hippocampus, the entorhinal cortex and the parahippocampal gyrus, are particularly vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease and hypoxemia. Here, we tested the associations between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity and medial temporal lobe volumes in 114 participants aged 55-86 years (35 % women). We also investigated the impact of sex, age, cognitive status, and free-water fraction correction on these associations.

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Several studies have suggested that atherosclerotic diseases and diabetes may be risk factors for α-synucleinopathies. This prospective cohort study evaluated whether cardiovascular diseases and metabolic risk factors alter the rate or type of phenoconversion from idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) to parkinsonism or dementia. Polysomnography-confirmed iRBD patients recruited between 2004 and 2020 were followed annually.

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Objective: This study was undertaken to follow up predictive factors for α-synuclein-related neurodegenerative diseases in a multicenter cohort of idiopathic/isolated rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD).

Methods: Patients with iRBD from 12 centers underwent a detailed assessment for potential environmental and lifestyle risk factors via a standardized questionnaire at baseline. Patients were then prospectively followed and received assessments for parkinsonism or dementia during follow-up.

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Sleepwalking is a common non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnia and a significant cause of sleep-related injuries. While evidence suggest that the occurrence of this condition is partly determined by genetic factors, its pattern of inheritance remains unclear, and few molecular studies have been conducted. One promising candidate is the adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene.

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Background: PSAP encodes saposin C, the co-activator of glucocerebrosidase, encoded by GBA. GBA mutations are associated with idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a prodromal stage of synucleinopathy.

Objective: To examine the role of PSAP mutations in iRBD.

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Background: Depression and anxiety are common in synucleinopathies and often present during prodromal stages, including idiopathic/isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). However, the specific profiles of depression/anxiety and their predictive values for phenoconversion remain unclear.

Objective: To assess the predominant manifestations, predictive value, and changes over time in depressive and anxiety symptoms in iRBD.

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Objective: To examine the role of genes identified through genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of Parkinson disease (PD) in the risk of isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD).

Methods: We fully sequenced 25 genes previously identified in GWASs of PD in a total of 1,039 patients with iRBD and 1,852 controls. The role of rare heterozygous variants in these genes was examined with burden tests.

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Background: There is only partial overlap in the genetic background of isolated rapid-eye-movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To examine the role of autosomal dominant and recessive PD or atypical parkinsonism genes in the risk of iRBD.

Methods: Ten genes, comprising the recessive genes PRKN, DJ-1 (PARK7), PINK1, VPS13C, ATP13A2, FBXO7, and PLA2G6 and the dominant genes LRRK2, GCH1, and VPS35, were fully sequenced in 1039 iRBD patients and 1852 controls of European ancestry, followed by association tests.

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Objective: To study the role of variants in the risk for isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and conversion to overt neurodegeneration.

Methods: A total of 4,147 individuals were included: 1,061 patients with iRBD and 3,086 controls. was fully sequenced using molecular inversion probes and Sanger sequencing.

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Background: Though visual illusions and hallucinations are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD), they are not typically observed clinically in prodromal stages, including isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). False-noise errors on the pareidolia test (seeing faces when none are present) may be an effective measure of susceptibility to future hallucinations in iRBD.

Methods: One hundred patients with iRBD underwent the 20-image pareidolia test.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mutations in the SMPD1 gene have been linked to Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.
  • The study analyzed SMPD1 variants in 959 patients with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) compared to 1287 control subjects.
  • Findings show no significant association between SMPD1 variants and iRBD, suggesting SMPD1 is unlikely to be a key factor in this disorder.
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Background: Neuroleptic drug-induced parkinsonism (NIP) is a leading cause of parkinsonism, particularly in aging. Based on abnormal dopamine transporter scan results, individuals displaying chronic NIP are often diagnosed with Lewy-body Parkinson's disease (PD), but this assumption needs further substantiation.

Objective: To quantitate the profile of striatal dopaminergic nerve terminal density in NIP relative to PD.

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Objective: We aimed to study the role of coding variants in a large cohort of patients with late-onset Parkinson disease (PD) (LOPD).

Methods: and its untranslated regions were sequenced using targeted next-generation sequencing in 1,567 patients with PD and 1,667 controls from 3 cohorts. Association tests of rare potential homozygous and compound heterozygous variants and burden tests for rare heterozygous variants were performed.

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Objective: Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a prodromal synucleinopathy, as >80% will eventually convert to overt synucleinopathy. We performed an in-depth analysis of the SNCA locus to identify RBD-specific risk variants.

Methods: Full sequencing and genotyping of SNCA was performed in isolated/idiopathic RBD (iRBD, n = 1,076), Parkinson disease (PD, n = 1,013), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n = 415), and control subjects (n = 6,155).

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