The aim of this study was to evaluate whether retinal neural network was impaired and cognitive functions were disturbed in restless legs syndrome (RLS) considering the hypothesis that there may be a dysfunction in dopaminergic pathways in RLS like in Parkinson's disease. Therefore, we evaluated retinal neural network with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and presence of cognitive impairment with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). Methods: OCT evaluations were performed for 30 RLS patients and 30 healthy controls. Ganglion cell complex was segmented to retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) automatically by the device, and recorded. Additionally, all the patients and the controls were evaluated using MOCA. Results: No statistically significant difference was detected between RLS and controls in RNFL, GCL, IPL, and choroidal thicknesses. However, total MOCA score and all of its subscale scores were significantly lower in the RLS patients compared with the controls. No significant correlation was detected between OCT and MOCA parameters. Conclusion: No degeneration was detected in retinal neurons (RNFL, GCL, and IPL) of RLS patients. However, impairments were seen in MOCA total and subscale scores of these patients. On the other hand, no significant correlation was detected between MOCA scores and RNFL, GCL, or IPL thicknesses. These findings suggest decrease in cognitive functions of RLS patients probably due to dopaminergic dysfunction regardless of anatomical neural degeneration. Longitudinal follow-up studies are warranted to evaluate whether neuronal degeneration will develop.
2017 and December 2017 were evaluated retrospectively. The diagnosis, age, sex, disability rates and interrelationships of the cases were studied. The obtained data was analyzed. Results: 958 cases were evaluated in total. 469 (49%) of these cases were male and 488 (51%) were female. The mean age of all cases was calculated to be 54.70 ± 28.8 (1-114) years, the mean age of men was lower (p <0.01) than that of women. The most common diagnoses were observed as dementia, epilepsy and cerebrovascular disease. Conclusion: Determining the data of cases evaluated by the neurology healthcare board will help prevent disability and will contribute to the future studies on disability.
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