High-Tech brain scans hunt for early clues to Parkinson's disease

This study used a powerful MRI scanner to look for subtle changes in the brains of people with a specific sleep disorder called REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Many people with this sleep disorder later develop Parkinson's disease. Researchers compared brain scans from 15 people with RBD to 15 healthy people to find differences that might help predict who is at highest risk for Parkinson's. The goal is to improve early detection for future trials of protective treatments.