Quebec Quebec: According to a new study, a simple blood test for people with a certain sleep disorder can help predict the development of dementia many years before the appearance of symptoms.

People play their dreams physically at bedtime due to Idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (IRBD). The disorder is also associated with a very high risk of a situation called dementia with Parkinson's disease and levy bodies. It is a form of dementia that often causes memory and cognitive loss as well as vivid visual hallucinations and movement difficulties similar to Parkinson.

Researchers at the University of McGill have found that a blood test, originally developed to detect Alzheimer's disease, may also identify which patients with IRBD sleep disorders are most likely to develop dementia with levy bodies. Blood test analyzes two proteins in the blood that serve as a biomarker for Alzheimer's.

Dr. Ronald Postuma, Professor in McGill's Department of Neurology and Clinical Researcher at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital), said, “Early detection of dementia can have an early detection of dementia, giving guidance to patients, planning for doctors, planning for the future and giving them more personal, effective treatment.”

Researchers followed 150 IRBD patients, examined biomarckers in their blood and monitored their health annually. Remarkable, a blood test conducted four years ago predicted dementia in about 90 percent of patients, which later caused the disease.