RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurologic disorder, affecting about 10% of the population. It consists of uncomfortable sensations in the legs that are worse at rest, better with movement, and most severe in the evening. It can be idiopathic, or secondary to several common medical conditions. In idiopathic cases, up to 92% report a first-degree relative with RLS symptoms. It is thought to follow a dominant inheritance pattern. Idiopathic RLS patients have been found to have abnormally low iron in the substantia nigra and putamen in the brain. RLS involves the dopaminergic pathways; symptoms respond to dopamine therapy, and abnormalities in dopamine uptake and dopaminergic receptors have been found using SPECT and PET imaging. Our objective is to isolate the gene or genes responsible for the familial restless legs syndrome.