title: Sequence analysis of leg movements during sleep with different intervals (<10, 10-90 and >90 s) in restless legs syndrome.
abstract: The aim of this study was to define the time structure of leg movements during sleep occurring with an intermovement interval (onset-to-onset) shorter than 10 s in patients with restless legs syndrome and controls, and to compare it to the structure of movements with intervals of 10-90 s or >90 s. Polysomnographic recordings of 141 untreated patients and 68 age-matched normal controls were analysed. All movements were detected and classified into three categories, separated by intervals of <10, 10-90 or >90 s. The number of movements included in each category was significantly higher in patients than in controls. The movements with an interval of >90 s occurred steadily during the night, whereas the hourly distribution of movements with intervals of <10 or 10-90 s was decreasing or bell-shaped in patients or controls, respectively. Movements with an interval of <10 s tended to have a shorter duration and constituted shorter sequences than movements with intervals of 10-90 or >90 s. The time structure features of the three categories of movements considered in this study were found to be clearly different. This, together with previous observations on the differential effects of dopamine agonists on movements with different intervals, suggests that movements with intervals of <10 and >90 s are regulated by neurotransmitter mechanisms different from those modulating movements with an interval of 10-90 s.
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Centre, Department of Neurology I. C., Oasi Institute for Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6937-3065
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferri
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Centre, Department of Neurology I. C., Oasi Institute for Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9498-093X
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rundo
authors.affiliation: PRISM Laboratory, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3992-3892
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Silvani
authors.affiliation: Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute and University Ospedale San Raffaele, Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4034-476X
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zucconi
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Centre, Department of Neurology I. C., Oasi Institute for Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy.
authors.forename: Debora
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9246-1979
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aricò
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Oliviero
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2207-1398
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bruni
authors.affiliation: Sleep Research Centre, Department of Neurology I. C., Oasi Institute for Research on Mental Retardation and Brain Aging (IRCCS), Troina, Italy.
authors.forename: Filomena I I
authors.initials: FII
authors.lastname: Cosentino
authors.affiliation: Sleep Disorders Center, Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute and University Ospedale San Raffaele, Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2867-5424
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferini-Strambi
authors.affiliation: Sleep and Epilepsy Center, Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland, Civic Hospital (EOC) of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland.|Department Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1849-7196
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manconi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D010507:Periodicity; D017286:Polysomnography; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012890:Sleep; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Willis-Ekbom Disease; periodic leg movements during sleep; short intermovement interval leg movements during sleep; time structure