Dysfunction of the cardiac parasympathetic system in fatal familial insomnia: a heart rate variability study

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Although sympathetic hyperactivity with preserved parasympathetic activity has been extensively recognized in fatal familial insomnia (FFI), the symptoms of parasympathetic nervous system failure observed in some patients are difficult to explain. Using heart rate variability (HRV), this study aimed to discover evidence of parasympathetic dysfunction in patients with FFI and the difference of parasympathetic activity between patients with FFI and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). METHODS: This study enrolled nine patients with FFI, eight patients with CJD and 18 healthy controls (HCs) from May 2013 to August 2020. All participants underwent a nocturnal video-polysomnography with lead II electrocardiography, and the data were analyzed using linear and nonlinear indices of HRV during both wake and sleep states. RESULTS: Compared to the HC and CJD groups, the FFI group had a continuously higher heart rate with a lower amplitude of oscillations. The low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) ratio and ratio of SD1 to SD2 and correlation dimension D2 (CD2) were significantly different in the FFI group compared to the HC group. The root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), HF and SD1 in the FFI group were significantly lower than in the HC group. RMSSD, SD1, and CD2 in the FFI group were all significantly lower than in the CJD group. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular dysautonomia in FFI may be partly attributable to parasympathetic abnormalities, not just sympathetic activation. HRV may be helpful as a noninvasive, quantitative, and effective autonomic function test for FFI diagnosis.