Session Information
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Session Title: Restless legs syndrome and other sleep disorders
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) in patients with Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), Corticobasilar Degeneration (CBD), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Diffuse Lewy Body Dementia (DLBD), collectively known as Atypical Parkinson’s disease (APD).
Background: A prevalence of RLS has been established in PD, with up to 22% of patients diagnosed in some studies, notably higher than the general North American population which has been quoted at 4-11%. Although some studies have evaluated the impact of RLS in APD, prevalence figures are not well documented.
Methods: Three study groups were assessed for prevalence and severity of RLS. Patients diagnosed with one of the APD disorders were compared to patients with PD and a control group. A survey was administered to determine the presence or absence of symptoms consistent with RLS, as well as to assess the severity of these symptoms.
Results: We surveyed 103 patients at a movement disorder clinic and compared their responses to 42 age matched controls. Of the 103 patients, 79 were diagnosed with PD and 24 with APD. Twenty-seven percent of patients with PD (n=21) met diagnostic criteria for RLS, while twenty-one percent of patients with APD (n=5; MSA=1, DLBD=1, PSP=2, CBD=1) also met these criteria. The PD group had a higher prevalence of RLS (0.27) than either controls (0.21) or the APD group (0.21), but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.49). There was no difference in RLS prevalence between the APD group and controls. The APD group had a higher mean severity score (21.8) than the PD (18.5) or control group (20.6), but this was not statistically significant.
Conclusions: Restless leg syndrome is more prevalent in patients with PD than those with APD. This difference may be explained by the difference in pathophysiology between PD and APD disorders. Further investigation is needed to further define the prevalence of RLS in APD disorders.
Accepted as an abstract and presented in poster format at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Washington D.C., April 2015.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
J.R.P. Zuzuárregui, K. Werbaneth, S. Lee, C. Branson, M.H. Saint-Hilaire, A.D. Hohler. Prevalence of restless legs syndrome in an atypical Parkinson’s disease population [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-restless-legs-syndrome-in-an-atypical-parkinsons-disease-population/. Accessed July 1, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/prevalence-of-restless-legs-syndrome-in-an-atypical-parkinsons-disease-population/