A polysomnographic study of sleep-related head jerks
10.19845/j.cnki.zfysjjbzz.2025.0162
- VernacularTitle:睡眠相关头部抽动的多导睡眠监测研究
- Author:
Honglin HAO
1
;
Yan HUANG
1
Author Information
1. Department of Neurology， Peking Union Medical College Hospital， Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences， Beijing 100730， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Sleep-related head jerks;
Video polysomnography
- From:
Journal of Apoplexy and Nervous Diseases
2025;42(10):878-881
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective Sleep-related head jerks （SRHJ） are a newly recognized sleep-onset motor phenomenon that has not yet been incorporated into the ICSD-3 classification of sleep disorders， and this study aims to provide a descriptive analysis of the clinical and video polysomnography （VPSG） features of SRHJ patients. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the VPSG recordings collected over a 2-year period in Sleep Laboratory of Department of Neurology， Peking Union Medical College Hospital， and the patients with a neck myoclonus index of >15 events per hour during REM sleep were diagnosed with SRHJ. The clinical and VPSG features of these patients with SRHJ were analyzed， as well as the proportion of patients with SRHJ-related arousals and micro-arousals or comorbidity with other types of sleep disorders. Results There were eight patients in the SRHJ group， and the occurrence rate of SRHJ during REM sleep was 77%. The head jerk index ranged from 15 to 91.5 events/h during REM sleep and from 0.5 to 4 events/h during NREM sleep. The patients with SRHJ-related arousals and micro-arousals accounted for 44%， among whom 44% were comorbid with jerks involving other body parts （such as the upper limbs， the lower limbs， and the shoulders）. Comorbid sleep disorders included obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in two patients， REM sleep behavior disorder in two patients， narcolepsy in one patient， and propriospinal myoclonus in one patient. Conclusion SRHJ is a paroxysmal motor event mainly observed during REM sleep and often has a low frequency of attack， possibly due to physiological causes. However， frequent episodes may disrupt sleep stability. There are currently no diagnostic criteria for SRHJ， and its diagnosis should consider the frequency of attacks， the impact on sleep stability， and potential adverse consequences.
- Full text:2025122913272754219睡眠相关头部抽动的多导睡眠监测研究.pdf
