Parkinson’s patients and restless legs syndrome

single leg rise

Writing in the January edition of Parkinsonism & Related Disorders Bhalsing K et al discuss the prevalence of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) in patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and other related neurodegenerative disorders.

The study found a higher prevalence of RLS in PD compared to healthy controls or other parkinsonian like disorders. However apart from the diagnosis of RLS, using the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) criteria,  there was no significant difference in the clinical characteristics of PD patients with or without RLS.

It was seen that PD patients with RLS had lower Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) score when compared to PD patients without RLS.