Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a disruptive sleep-related movement disorder characterized by a strong urge to move one or both legs (and sometimes the arms), usually accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling in the legs.
The condition is common and impacts 2-3 percent of adults in the United States.
RLS is most prominent in the evening or at night and symptoms may get better with movement. This often leads to sleep disruptions that impact quality of life and can lead to difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, the urge to get out of bed to stretch or move their legs, fatigue or daytime sleepiness, behavior or mood changes, difficulty paying attention, remembering things or contextualizing as well as depression or anxiety.
Now, for the first time in 12 years, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has published an update to its Clinical Practice Guidelines for the treatment of RLS. These guidelines may have a major impact on how people with RLS are treated with the goal of finding the most effective treatment for symptom relief.
In this interview, Dr. John Winkelman, MD, PhD, Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital discusses the latest advances in RLS treatment guidelines and what patients and physicians should be aware of.
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