title: Quantitative rest activity in ambulatory monitoring as a physiological marker of restless legs syndrome: a controlled study.
abstract: An objective marker of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is needed for developing diagnostic tools and monitoring symptoms. Actometric ambulatory monitoring of 15 RLS patients and 15 healthy controls was undertaken in order to differentiate between RLS-related motor symptoms and normal motor activity. Nocturnal lower-limb activity per minute differentiated and discriminated between groups with no overlap, whereas the periodic limb movement index and the controlled rest activity during sitting showed less discriminative power. The naturalistic recording of nocturnal activity by actometry may prove useful for assessing the severity of RLS and for finding an objective marker to support the diagnosis of RLS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH), Helsinki, Finland. katinka.tuisku@hus.fi
authors.forename: Katinka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tuisku
authors.forename: Matti Mikael
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Holi
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wahlbeck
authors.forename: Aulikki Johanna
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ahlgren
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lauerma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D020189:Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D012146:Rest; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology