Restless Legs Symptoms and Periodic Leg Movements in Sleep Among Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Abstract

The association between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) remains controversial, with epidemiologic and descriptive evidence suggesting some potential overlap while mechanistic/genetic studies suggesting relative independence of the conditions. To examine a known, objectively measured endophenotype for RLS, periodic leg movements (PLMS) in sleep, in patients with PD and relate that objective finding to restless legs symptoms. We performed polysomnography for one (n = 8) or two (n = 67) consecutive nights in 75 PD patients and examined the association of PLMS with restless legs symptoms. We found no association between restless legs symptoms and PLMS in PD. Prevalence of both was similar to data reported previously in other PD samples. We interpret these results as suggesting that restless legs symptoms in PD patients may represent a different phenomenon and pathophysiology than RLS in the non-PD population.