title: Restless leg syndrome in patients with spinal cord injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The presence of restless leg syndrome (RLS) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is not well established. We studied the frequency and severity of RLS in a population of patients with SCI and the effect of treatment with dopaminergic drugs when clinically indicated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive patients with SCI admitted to an out-patient clinic of a neurorehabilitation hospital (n:195) were evaluated for the presence of RLS between February 2013 and May 2014. A diagnosis of RLS was made according to the criteria of the International RLS Study Group, and severity was assessed by the RLS rating scale. Information on gender, age, time since SCI, level and severity of SCI, was obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 54.7 ± 15.6 years (range: 22-81 year); with time since SCI: 16.9 ± 11.4 years (range: 1-50 years). Thirty-five of 195 patients (17.9%) presented RLS. Twenty-two out of 154 (14.3%) patients with cervicothoracic SCI and 13 out of 41 (31.7%) patients with lumbosacral SCI presented RLS. Restless leg symptoms were mild in 2 patients, moderate in 10 patients, severe in 12 patients and very severe in 11. Ten patients received dopaminergic agonist treatment with a significant reduction in RLS severity scale from 29.1 ± 5.9 to 10.2 ± 7.9.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RLS occurs frequently in SCI patients and responds to dopaminergic treatment. Physicians have to be aware of this diagnosis to avoid unnecessary suffering in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: hkumru@guttmann.com.
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumru
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benito
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barrio
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Portell
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valles
authors.affiliation: Fundación Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació adscrit a la UAB, Badalona, Barcelona, 08916, Spain; Univ Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Spain; Fundació Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Servei de Neurologia, Hspital Clinic de Barcelona, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santamaria
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D052160:Benzothiazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D015897:Comorbidity; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010292:Paresthesia / Q000209:etiology; D000077487:Pramipexole; D015995:Prevalence; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012447:Sacrum; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D052160:Benzothiazoles; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D000077487:Pramipexole
keywords: Dopaminergic agonist; Lumbosacral lesion; Restless leg syndrome; Spinal cord injury