Acetyl-DL-leucine helps improve symptoms in people with REM sleep behavior disorder, restores dopamine activity in the brain, and stabilizes abnormal brain patterns

Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD) is an early sign of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Around 25% of people with early PD had aggressive dreams or acted them out before motor symptoms appeared. iRBD patients have a high chance (over 85%) of developing PD or a related condition like Dementia with Lewy Bodies within 10–15 years. Unfortunately, no treatments currently exist to slow the progression of PD. In 2020, researchers treated a PD patient with a modified amino acid (Acetyl-D-leucine) and saw improvements in their sleep disorder symptoms. Based on this, they gave the treatment to two more patients with iRBD. The patients reported fewer aggressive dreams and less dream enactment. Tests showed that the treatment improved dopamine function in the brain, which is typically reduced in PD. It also stabilized abnormal brain patterns linked to the disease. The findings suggest that this treatment may help slow, or even reverse, the progression of Parkinson’s disease in its early stages.