PROLACTIN LEVELS IN RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 不宁腿综合征(RLS)是一种病因不明的疾病。现有证据主要来自临床工作，表明存在多巴胺功能异常：Sinemet和多巴胺激动剂在治疗症状方面有效率为95%-99%。PET和SPECT扫描结果显示纹状体D2受体和DAT有轻微但明显的下降。这项研究的目的是寻找另一种多巴胺敏感系统，催乳素分泌，作为RLS人群中多巴胺功能及其特征的可能生物标志物。催乳素的分泌受抑制的多巴胺控制。格林斯潘等人(1991)证明了催乳素脉动性的昼夜规律，这与已知的多巴胺分泌是一致的。早上，多巴胺含量最高，催乳素含量最低。多巴胺处于最低水平，催乳素在深夜和凌晨处于最高水平。在不宁腿综合症中，症状有一个昼夜节律：晚上更糟，早上最少或不出现。据推测，脑多巴胺能系统的昼夜节律变化是导致这种症状的昼夜节律变化的原因。夜间减少多巴胺会导致症状的出现。因此，研究遵循昼夜节律模式的多巴胺机制是合适的，尤其是那些遵循预期的RLS症状模式的机制。也就是说，随着夜间多巴胺的减少，催乳素和RLS症状都会上升。两者都被认为是由于多巴胺能活动减少所致。因此，人们可能会假设，与年龄匹配的对照组相比，不宁腿综合症患者的平均催乳素水平、脉搏高度和夜间脉搏幅度都会增加。在Greenspan等人1991年的论文(1)中，对这些方法进行了评估，发现它们对多巴胺能活性的变化最敏感。

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 disorder of unclear etiology. There is existing evidence primarily from clinical work that suggests there is an abnormality of dopamine function: Sinemet and the dopamine agonists are 95-99% effective in treating symptoms. PET and SPECT scanning results showed small but significant decreases in the D2 receptors and the DAT in the striatum. The purpose of this study is to look at an alternative dopamine sensitive system, prolactin secretion, as a possible biological marker for dopamine function and its characteristics in the RLS population. Prolactin secretion is under inhibitory dopamine control. Greenspan et al (1991) demonstrated a circadian pattern to the prolactin pulsatility in line with what is known about dopamine secretion. Dopamine is at its highest and prolactin at its lowest in the morning. Dopamine is at its lowest and prolactin is at its highest late night and early hours of the morning. In Restless legs syndrome the symptoms have a circadian pattern: worse at night minimal or absent in the morning. It has been postulated that circadian variations in the dopaminergic system within the brain are responsible for this circadian variation in symptoms. Decreasing dopamine at night leads to the onset of symptoms. Therefore, it would be appropriate to look at dopamine mechanisms which follow a circadian pattern, particularly those that follow the expected pattern of RLS symptoms. That is, with a decrease in dopamine at night, prolactin rises as do RLS symptoms. Both supposedly are due to a decrease in dopaminergic activity. One would therefore hypothesize that patients with restless legs syndrome would have increased mean prolactin levels, increased pulse height and increased pulse amplitude at night compared to age-matched controls. These are the measures, which were evaluated and found most sensitive to changes in dopaminergic activity in the Greenspan et al 1991 paper (1).