Gene Linked to Restless Leg Syndrome Found

Finding likely to spur additional research for diagnosis and treatment of disorder

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

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WEDNESDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Icelandic researchers have discovered a gene that's linked to restless legs syndrome (RLS).

The research, which is in the July 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found a gene variant that increases the odds of having RLS with periodic limb movements during sleep by 50 percent. The researchers also found that those with the gene variant were more likely to have low iron levels.

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"There is a strong familial and genetic basis to restless legs syndrome," said the author of an accompanying editorial, Dr. John Winkelman, medical director of the Sleep Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Winkelman's editorial also pointed out that two other soon-to-be-published studies confirmed the link to this gene variant and RLS in a different population, and found two other genetic variants linked to RLS.

"Finding these genes may allow us to get more detail in the RLS story and eventually may allow us to predict who will respond to medications, who will have complications and which family members are likely to develop RLS. But it's early on; we need to see which of the next steps pan out, but this opens up many new avenues for research," Winkelman said.

Restless legs syndrome is a common neurological disorder, affecting as many as 3 percent of American adults, according to Winkelman. Those with RLS experience a compelling need to move their legs.

"It's quite a creepy, uncomfortable feeling. It's kind of a jittery feeling that they have to move their legs," explained Susan Zafarlotfi, clinical director of the Institute for Sleep-Wake Disorders and the Breath and Lung Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

About four out of five people with RLS also experience periodic limb movements during sleep, according to Winkelman. Periodic limb movements -- jerking or twitching of the legs or feet -- occur in a fairly set pattern, with a still period in between. "It almost looks as if they're guided by a metronome," said Winkelman. With each movement, blood pressure rises, and the person may be briefly aroused from sleep, though they're often not aware of this. Winkelman said many people with RLS have poor quality sleep and report daytime fatigue.

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