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Sonographic substantia nigra hypoechogenicity in polyneuropathy and restless legs syndrome
Author(s) -
Godau Jana,
Manz Almut,
Wevers AnneKathrin,
Gaenslen Alexandra,
Berg Daniela
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.22391
Subject(s) - restless legs syndrome , substantia nigra , polyneuropathy , echogenicity , medicine , gastroenterology , neurological disorder , central nervous system disease , cardiology , pathology , surgery , parkinson's disease , neurology , ultrasonography , psychiatry , disease
Substantia nigra (SN) hypoechogenicity assessed by transcranial B‐mode sonography (TCS) is typical for idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS). Here, we investigated whether SN hypoechogenicity may differentiate between polyneuropathy (PNP) patients with and without RLS. Seventy‐five patients with PNP, 65 healthy controls, and 75 patients with idiopathic RLS were investigated. A total of 41.2% patients with PNP additionally suffered from RLS. A total of 44.1% patients with PNP, 10.2% of healthy controls, and 91.2% of patients with idiopathic RLS exhibited SN hypoechogenicity. SN echogenicity did not differ significantly between PNP patients with and without RLS. Thus, TCS seems not suitable for the diagnosis of RLS in patients with PNP. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society