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According to a team of researchers, recurring nightmares or hallucinations can occur before the onset of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. And you, how are your nights going?
Recurring nightmares are not always a sign of trauma, stress to be resolved or a neurological pathology. On the other hand, according to a new study, they could be a warning symptom of autoimmune inflammatory diseases such as lupus, for example. This is the conclusion of a new scientific study on these still mysterious dysfunctions.
Three out of five lupus patients report “painful” nightmares
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London surveyed 676 people living with lupus, 400 doctors, and conducted interviews with 69 other patients suffering from systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune disease known for its effects on many organs, including the brain.
Each participant had to indicate the time and duration of their neurological and psychiatric symptoms (whether loss of balance, depression, hallucinations, etc.), and evoke the order of these during an attack of their disease.
Results: Three in five lupus patients reported experiencing disruption of REM sleep, the period during which dreams occur, and one in three said it happened more than a year before the onset of lupus. Nightmares were described as “intense and distressing, involving being attacked, trapped, crushed or falling”. A participant describes dreams “horrible”, with “murders” notably.
Hallucinations, another symptom that returns
One in four patients also reported hallucinations (“daymares” in English), Hallucinations not “necessarily frightening”, specifies a patient. “It’s like you’re disoriented, […] with the impression of being Alice in Wonderland. For 85% of them, however, the symptom only appeared at the start of the disease or later.
The importance of knowing these symptoms to break a taboo
For lead author Dr Melanie Sloan, from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, the finding is significant: “It is important that clinicians talk to their patients about these types of symptoms and spend time noting their individual progression (…) Indeed, patients and doctors may be reluctant to discuss Mental Health and neurological symptoms, particularly if they do not realize that these may be linked to autoimmune diseases.
Out of fear, or shame, patients suffering from hallucinations often remain reluctant to share their experiences, and many specialists have said they have never considered nightmares and hallucinations to be linked to illness flare-ups. The discovery of this symptom could therefore change the situation and unblock the discussion while providing an early warning system which would identify flare-ups earlier!
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