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Urinary 6‐hydroxy‐melatonin‐sulfate excretion and circadian rhythm in patients with restless legs syndrome
Author(s) -
Tribl Gotthard G.,
Waldhauser Franz,
Sycha Thomas,
Auff Eduard,
Zeitlhofer Josef
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of pineal research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.881
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1600-079X
pISSN - 0742-3098
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-079x.2003.00080.x
Subject(s) - melatonin , medicine , excretion , endocrinology , circadian rhythm , evening , pineal gland , urinary system , physics , astronomy
The precise etiology of the restless legs syndrome (RLS) is unknown. Sensory and motor symptoms of RLS worsen during evening/night, coincident with the physiological peak of pineal melatonin excretion. Decreased melatonin levels have been reported in insomnia, which is an associated feature of RLS. Melatonin substitution improved insomnia. A potential association between the idiopathic RLS (iRLS) and alterations in melatonin excretion was therefore explored. Daytime (7:00–22:00 hr) and night‐time (22:00–7:00 hr) urinary excretion of 6‐OH‐melatonin‐sulfate (aMLTs) was measured in 15 patients with iRLS and 11 controls by a radioimmunoassay. There was no significant difference between daytime and night‐time urinary aMLTs excretion in iRLS as compared with controls (daytime: 6.14 ± 5.20 ng versus 5.02 ± 5.11 ng, NS; night‐time: 21.07 ± 17.05 ng versus 22.92 ± 16.52 ng, NS). Our data do not provide evidence for a decrease of cumulative melatonin production in iRLS. Insomnia in RLS does not seem to be correlated with a deficit of melatonin.