Evidence shows that individuals affected by idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) have a high risk of conversion to Parkinson’s disease, or dementia with Lewy bodies, or multiple system atrophy. Despite sharing a cellular pathological hallmark, the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, and some clinical features in the early stages, these conditions show different phenotypes in later stages with significant therapeutic and prognostic consequences for the patients.

The consortium DEEPEN-iRBD aims to develop a pathogenicity model for prediction of phenoconversion utilizing pre-clinical/clinical research and data analysis, taking into account a personalised medicine approach, based on the individual’s unique characteristics and optimisation of strategies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the individuals rather than the disease.

In this project, both existing and newly acquired data will be integrated, including advanced clinical assessments, physiological signal recordings, molecular markers derived from body fluids, skin biopsy, and iPSC-derived brain cells, in order to identify a specific profile at a very early stage, that is a prodromal phase, for each of the above conditions. This would ultimately allow to define a model for early risk stratification, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of patients with iRBD. 

A further important objective of the project deals with the ethical and social aspects of screening people in a prodromal stage of the diseases and of communicating the screening results.