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Transcranial ultrasound shows nigral hypoechogenicity in restless legs syndrome
Author(s) -
Schmidauer Christoph,
Sojer Martin,
Seppi Klaus,
Stockner Heike,
Högl Birgit,
Biedermann Birgit,
Brandauer Elisabeth,
Peralta Cecilia M.,
Wenning Gregor K.,
Poewe Werner
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.20572
Subject(s) - substantia nigra , restless legs syndrome , parkinson's disease , echogenicity , midbrain , medicine , disease , pathology , ultrasound , neurology , radiology , central nervous system , psychiatry
In patients with Parkinson's disease, hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra using transcranial ultrasound has been related to increased tissue concentrations of iron. Recently, deficient iron transport mechanisms in substantia nigra neurons have been described in postmortem tissue of patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS). This study was performed to study substantia nigra echogenicity in RLS patients compared with normal control subjects and Parkinson's disease patients. RLS patients had significantly reduced midbrain areas of hyperechogenicity compared with control subjects, and even more markedly reduced hyperechogenicity compared with Parkinson's disease patients. These findings lend further support to nigral iron deficiency as a pathogenetic factor in RLS. Ann Neurol 2005