Talking Sleep Season 5 | Episode 13

Navigating the Ethics of Disclosure in RBD

Dr. Alon Avidan, GUEST

In this episode of Talking Sleep, our guest Dr. Alon Avidan, helps us better understand the ethics of disclosure in REM sleep behavior disorder. A big part of this disorder’s overall management includes disclosing potential neurodegenerative sequelae. While prescribing medications can be fairly straightforward, the discussion of a potentially life-altering diagnosis is more nuanced. It requires not only the explanation of Lewy Body dementia or Parkinson’s but also the ability to assess what a patient needs to hear and when it is appropriate to disclose this information.

Dr. Avidan is a professor of neurology at UCLA where he serves as Director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center. He was recently awarded and served as Visiting Professor of Neurology Education in the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, and was selected to receive the 2014 American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Excellence in Education Award, for career contributions to education in sleep medicine.