Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disease that manifests as an overwhelming urge to move the lower limbs, especially at night. Also called Willis-Ekbom’s disease, “impatience in the legs” or even “nocturnal impatience”, it would affect up to 15% of the world population and about 8% of the French population.
Restless leg syndrome may originate in the brain, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota (US). Their work (published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, Neurology) involved 28 volunteers suffering from “nocturnal impatience” for at least 13 years. These were compared to a control group of 51 volunteers and both groups underwent brain MRI.
Pathological changes in the brain
Verdict? US researchers found that patients with restless legs syndrome had thinner brain tissue (up to 7.5%) than average in their somatosensory cortex. This region of the brain, well known to science, has the role of receiving information related to the 5 senses sent by the rest of the body.
In addition, the researchers found fewer connections between the two cerebral hemispheres of volunteers with RLS.
“We believe that restless legs syndrome is linked to pathological changes in the brain: more work is needed to consider an effective treatment” conclude the scientists.
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