Restless Legs Syndrome – Secondary, Comorbid or Coincidental?

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disease characterized by the presence of an urge to move the legs accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the legs. The symptoms appear or increase in the evening and during the night, they are provoked by rest, and are totally or partially relieved by moving the legs [1, 2] . Diagnosis of RLS is based solely on the presence of the abovementioned symptoms without any definite objective measurement. The etiology of RLS remains unclear, but the strongest evidence supports the ‘iron theory’: symptoms of RLS are a result of peripheral and central iron deficiency leading to disturbances in dopaminergic transmission [3] . RLS is a frequent disorder – primary RLS was found in 2.4% of the general population in a recent study [4] . In another study, RLS of any form (primary and secondary) and of any frequency of symptoms was found in 7.2% of the general population [5] . The above facts (subjectivity of the symptoms, unclear etiology and high frequency in the general population) should be remembered when analyzing the data on the prevalence of RLS in other diseases. Received: October 1, 2012 Accepted: October 14, 2012 Published online: December 13, 2012