Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome (RLS), a familial disorder causing unpleasant crawling, prickling, or tingling sensations in the legs and feet and an urge to move them for relief, is emerging as one of the more common sleep disorders, especially among older people.

Affecting as many as 12 million Americans, this disorder leads to constant leg movement during the day and insomnia at night.

Severe RLS is most common in elderly people, though symptoms may develop at any age. In some cases, it may be linked to other conditions such as anemia, pregnancy, or diabetes.

Many RLS patients also have a condition known as periodic limb movement disorder or PLMD, which causes repetitive jerking movements of the limbs, especially the legs. These movements occur every 20 to 40 seconds and cause repeated awakening and severely fragmented sleep.

In one study, RLS and PLMD accounted for a third of the sleeplessness seen in patients over the age of 60.

RLS and PLMD can often be relieved by drugs that affect the neurotransmitter dopamine, suggesting that dopamine abnormalities underlie these disorders.

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