Light therapy for delaying progression of neurodegeneration of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder

Abstract

The invention relates to a light therapy for delaying the progression of neurodegeneration of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, relates to the technical field of treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and particularly discloses a specific light therapy for a rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) stage, aiming at delaying the progression of alpha-synucleinopathy (such as Parkinson's disease and the like). By accurately controlling parameters such as illumination intensity, wavelength, duration and the like, non-invasive treatment is carried out on a subject in the RBD stage, so that the motor function is improved, neurons are protected, and aggregation of pathological alpha-synuclein is reduced. Experimental results show that the therapy can significantly delay disease progression and improve life quality of patients. The invention provides a safe and effective early intervention means, and provides a new thought and method for the treatment of alpha-synucleinopathies.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of neurodegenerative disease treatment and prevention, specifically a bright light therapy for delaying the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration. BACKGROUND

[0002] Alpha-synucleinopathy is a group of neurodegenerative diseases that severely affect the quality of life of patients, mainly manifested as impaired motor function, sleep and breathing disorders, cognitive decline, dementia, and mental and psychological disorders. These symptoms not only cause great physical and mental suffering to the patients themselves, but also bring heavy burden to their families and society. With the intensification of global population aging, the prevalence of alpha-synucleinopathy is rapidly rising, becoming a public health problem that needs to be addressed urgently.

[0003] Currently, there is still a lack of effective treatment for alpha-synucleinopathy. Because the course of this type of disease is irreversible, once the patient has significant clinical symptoms, intervention is often too late. With the passage of time, the patient's symptoms will gradually worsen, eventually leading to exhaustion and death. Therefore, early intervention is crucial to delay disease progression. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a highly specific preclinical prodromal phase of alpha-synucleinopathy and is considered an important window for preventive intervention.

[0004] Therefore, it is urgent to explore and develop promising preventive intervention means to delay the progression of RBD and other alpha-synucleinopathies, thereby reducing the impact of the disease on patients and society. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a bright light therapy for delaying the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the present application is realized by the following technical scheme: a bright light therapy for delaying the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration, comprising the following steps:

[0007] Step one: selectively expose RBD patients or model animals (such as RBD mice) to a bright light environment with specific light intensity and duration during a specific period of time;

[0008] Step two: the parameters of the bright light environment, including light intensity, wavelength and duration, are adjusted according to the physiological response and disease status of the treated subject to optimize the treatment effect;

[0009] Step three: the bright light therapy aims to improve the motor dysfunction of RBD patients or model animals and reduce the loss of dopamine neurons and the aggregation of pathological alpha-synuclein.

[0010] In this embodiment, the principle is based on the regulation of human biological rhythms and nervous system by light. Various physiological functions and behaviors in the human body are regulated by the biological clock, and the rhythmicity of the biological clock is influenced by external environmental signals such as light. In the rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) stage, the patient's biological clock and nervous system may have been disturbed to some extent, which may further exacerbate the progression of alpha-synucleinopathy. Therefore, through specific bright light therapy, the patient's biological clock and nervous system can be intervened at the appropriate time and intensity, thereby regulating their physiological rhythms, improving motor function, and reducing neuronal loss and pathological protein aggregation.

[0011] In a specific embodiment of the first aspect, the specific time period is night or early morning to simulate or adjust the patient's natural sleep-wake cycle.

[0012] In a specific embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises the following steps:

[0013] A1: Before and after the implementation of bright light therapy, the treated subject is subjected to motor function tests such as pole climbing and rotarod experiments to assess the improvement of their motor function;

[0014] A2: Histopathological methods, including but not limited to staining and immunohistochemical techniques, are used to detect the loss of dopamine neurons and the degree of pathological alpha-synuclein aggregation in the treated subject to assess the biological effects of bright light therapy.

[0015] As a preventive intervention for alpha-synucleinopathy, bright light therapy is particularly suitable for patients in the RBD stage to delay the overall progression of the disease.

[0016] The second aspect is a device for implementing a bright light therapy for delaying the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration, comprising:

[0017] a light source for generating bright light with specific light intensity and wavelength;

[0018] a control unit for adjusting the on and off time of the light source, and controlling the light intensity and wavelength to adapt to the needs of different treated subjects;

[0019] an optional monitoring device for monitoring the physiological parameters of the treated subject during the bright light therapy, such as sleep-wake cycle, heart rate, etc., to evaluate the treatment effect and adjust the treatment parameters.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0021] 1. By implementing the bright light therapy described in the present application during the RBD stage, it is possible to intervene early in the development of the disease process, effectively delaying the overall progression of alpha-synucleinopathy. This is of great significance for improving the quality of life of patients and prolonging survival. Experimental results show that mice receiving bright light therapy perform significantly better than untreated controls in motor function tests. This indicates that the therapy can significantly improve motor dysfunction and improve the ability of patients to carry out daily activities;

[0022] 2. Histopathological examination shows that bright light therapy can reduce the loss of dopamine neurons and protect the morphology and function of neurons. This is crucial for delaying the pathological process of neurodegenerative diseases. Pathological aggregation of alpha-synuclein is one of the important pathological features of alpha-synucleinopathy. The bright light therapy described in the present application can significantly reduce the aggregation of this pathological protein, thereby reducing its damage to neurons;

[0023] 3. Compared with traditional drug therapy and surgical treatment, the bright light therapy provided by the present application has the advantages of non-invasiveness, simple operation, high safety, etc. It avoids the side effects of drugs and the risks of surgery, providing patients with a safer and more effective treatment option. In addition to directly improving symptoms and pathological manifestations, bright light therapy may also play a therapeutic role by activating neuroprotective and repair mechanisms. This mechanism may include promoting neuronal regeneration, enhancing antioxidant stress resistance, etc., thereby further delaying disease progression. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of the present application.

[0025] A bright light therapy for delaying the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration, comprising the following steps: step one: selectively exposing the patient or model animal (such as RBD mice) with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) to a bright light environment with specific light intensity and duration during a specific time period; step two: the parameters of the bright light environment, including light intensity, wavelength and duration, are adjusted according to the physiological response and disease state of the treated subject to optimize the treatment effect; step three: the bright light therapy aims to improve the motor dysfunction of RBD patients or model animals and reduce the loss of dopamine neurons and the aggregation of pathological alpha-synuclein.

[0026] The specific time period is night or early morning to simulate or adjust the natural sleep-wake cycle of the patient.

[0027] Further comprising the following steps: A1: Before and after the implementation of bright light therapy, the treated subject is subjected to motor function tests such as pole climbing experiment and rotarod experiment to assess the improvement of their motor function; A2: Using histopathological methods including but not limited to staining and immunohistochemical techniques, the loss of dopamine neurons and the degree of pathological alpha-synuclein aggregation in the treated subject are detected to assess the biological effect of bright light therapy.

[0028] As a preventive intervention for alpha-synucleinopathy, bright light therapy is particularly suitable for patients at the RBD stage to delay the overall progression of the disease.

[0029] A device for implementing a bright light therapy to delay the progression of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder neurodegeneration, comprising: a light source for generating bright light with specific light intensity and wavelength; a control unit for adjusting the on and off time of the light source, and controlling the light intensity and wavelength to adapt to the needs of different treated subjects; an optional monitoring device for monitoring the physiological parameters of the treated subject during the bright light therapy, such as sleep-wake cycle, heart rate, etc., to assess the treatment effect and adjust the treatment parameters.

[0030] Example: Bright light therapy improves motor dysfunction in RBD mice

[0031] Objective: To verify the improvement effect of bright light therapy on motor dysfunction in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) mouse model.

[0032] Methods: 20 RBD mice with similar age and weight were selected and randomly divided into two groups: experimental group and control group, 10 mice in each group. The mice in the experimental group received 30 minutes of bright light therapy every day during the night to early morning period, with light intensity of 500 lux and wavelength of 470 nanometers. The mice in the control group were not treated during the same period. After 30 days of continuous treatment, the motor function of the mice in both groups was evaluated through pole climbing experiment and rotarod experiment.

[0033] Results: Compared with the control group, the mice in the experimental group receiving bright light therapy showed significantly improved motor function in the pole climbing experiment and rotarod experiment (P<0.05).

[0034] Although embodiments of the present application have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made thereto without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A phototherapy method for delaying the progression of neurodegenerative changes in REM sleep behavior disorder, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Selectively expose patients or animal models of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) to bright light environments with specific light intensities and durations during specific time periods; Step 2: The parameters of the bright light environment, including light intensity, wavelength, and duration, are adjusted according to the physiological response and disease state of the treated subject to optimize the treatment effect; Step 3: The light therapy aims to improve motor dysfunction in RBD patients or animal models and reduce the loss of dopamine neurons and the accumulation of pathological α-synuclein.

2. The phototherapy for delaying the progression of neurodegenerative disorders of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The specific time period is nighttime or early morning, in order to simulate or adjust the patient's natural sleep-wake cycle.

3. The phototherapy for delaying the progression of neurodegenerative disorders of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes the following steps: A1: Before and after implementing phototherapy, conduct motor function tests on the treated subjects, such as pole climbing test and bar spinning test, to assess the improvement of their motor function. A2: Histopathological methods, including but not limited to staining and immunohistochemistry, are used to detect the loss of dopamine neurons and the degree of aggregation of pathological α-synuclein in the treated subjects to evaluate the biological effects of phototherapy.

4. The phototherapy for delaying the progression of neurodegenerative disorders of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aforementioned phototherapy, as a preventive intervention for α-synucleinosis, is particularly suitable for patients in the RBD stage, in order to slow the overall progression of the disease.

5. A device for implementing a light therapy for delaying the neurodegenerative progression of REM sleep behavior disorder as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, include: A light source is used to produce bright light with a specific intensity and wavelength. The control unit is used to adjust the on and off time of the light source, as well as control the light intensity and wavelength to adapt to the needs of different patients. Optional monitoring devices are available to monitor physiological parameters such as sleep-wake cycles and heart rate during phototherapy to assess treatment effectiveness and adjust treatment parameters.