TY - JOUR
T1 - Restless legs syndrome
T2 - Clinical features and treatment
AU - Tan, Eng King
AU - Ondo, William G.
PY - 2000/6
Y1 - 2000/6
N2 - Restless legs syndrome (RLS), widely recognized as a definite clinical entity, has an estimated prevalence of 1 to 15% in different ethnic populations. However, it remains an underdiagnosed condition and its symptoms are frequently ascribed to stress and anxiety. Advancement in modern imaging techniques and clinical drug trials provide evidence of an impaired dopaminergic system in RLS. Management involves investigating and correcting treatable secondary causes, avoidance of aggravating factors, and pharmacologic therapy. Recent controlled trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of dopamine agonists such as pramipexole and pergolide. Additional research is needed to further elucidate the pathophysiology of RLS, through obtaining post-mortem specimens and refinement of neuroimaging and neurophysiologic techniques. Isolation of specific genetic loci in familial cases would enable better characterization of distinct clinical and genetic subsets of RLS and result in better understanding of this disease at the molecular level.
AB - Restless legs syndrome (RLS), widely recognized as a definite clinical entity, has an estimated prevalence of 1 to 15% in different ethnic populations. However, it remains an underdiagnosed condition and its symptoms are frequently ascribed to stress and anxiety. Advancement in modern imaging techniques and clinical drug trials provide evidence of an impaired dopaminergic system in RLS. Management involves investigating and correcting treatable secondary causes, avoidance of aggravating factors, and pharmacologic therapy. Recent controlled trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of dopamine agonists such as pramipexole and pergolide. Additional research is needed to further elucidate the pathophysiology of RLS, through obtaining post-mortem specimens and refinement of neuroimaging and neurophysiologic techniques. Isolation of specific genetic loci in familial cases would enable better characterization of distinct clinical and genetic subsets of RLS and result in better understanding of this disease at the molecular level.
KW - Pathophysiology
KW - Restless legs syndrome
KW - Treatment
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U2 - 10.1097/00000441-200006000-00010
DO - 10.1097/00000441-200006000-00010
M3 - Review article
C2 - 10875297
AN - SCOPUS:0034095705
SN - 0002-9629
VL - 319
SP - 397
EP - 403
JO - American Journal of the Medical Sciences
JF - American Journal of the Medical Sciences
IS - 6
ER -