Vivid, disturbing nightmares may be a sign of a newly developing autoimmune disorder or an upcoming flare of existing disease, experts say.
Researchers found 3 in 5 lupus patients, and 1 in 3 patients with other rheumatology-related diseases, had increasingly vivid and distressing nightmares just before their hallucinations.
Systemic autoimmune diseases often have a range of symptoms, called prodromes, that appear as signs of a sudden and possibly dangerous worsening of the condition.
Connect the dots to autoimmune diseaseOn first glance, it would make sense that such neurological manifestations as nightmares would occur if the autoimmune disease impacts the brain, which lupus often does, Sloan said.
“In some cases, reporting these symptoms earlier, even if they seem strange and unconnected, may lead to the doctor being able to ‘join the dot’s’ to diagnose an autoimmune disease.”
Persons:
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Organizations:
CNN, University of Cambridge, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Guy’s Hospital, Kings College London, Hennepin County Medical, University of Minnesota
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Canadian, United Kingdom, Chicago, Hennepin, Minneapolis