Childhood restless legs syndrome

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The last 20 years witnessed increased medical awareness regarding restless legs syndrome (Willis-Ekbom disease) among adults and children. However, it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Diagnosis relies exclusively on the history described by patients in their own words. Children who cannot adequately describe their symptoms represent a difficulty. To circumvent this, probable and possible restless legs syndrome have been instituted as diagnostic alternatives. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to emphasize to general Pediatricians that among children restless legs syndrome is not only common, but also has the potential to impair the quality of life of affected patients and their caregivers. METHODS: We performed a search in the database of Medline-PubMed for articles dated from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013. Many relevant articles before 2008 were also studied. Key words used were: restless legs syndrome and/or restless legs syndrome children. The Google Scholar database and pages in Portuguese were also investigated. We also searched for the theme in various relevant textbooks. We have added our personal experience to published literature. CONCLUSION: We observed that restless legs syndrome is common in children, and its diagnosis requires knowledge and intuition on the part of the Pediatrician.

Excessively crying infants are more common among children of parents with restless legs syndrome

“…8,9 manifestation of the problem is diagnosed based on a patient's self-reported history; therefore, it may be impossible to determine if a child who is unable to articulate his or her symptoms suffers from WED/RLS. [9][10][11] Because some children may behave as if they are having discomfort in their legs, experts have hypothesized that they may be prone to develop WED/RLS. As such, the diagnoses of "possible" and "probable" WED/ RLS have been created to describe this type of behavior among children who are unable to express their symptoms in their own words.…”

“…As the terms may indicate, probable WED/RLS is more likely to occur than possible WED/RLS. The prevalence of childhood WED/RLS has been studied primarily among older children who can describe their symptoms, 10,11 which means that little is known regarding WED/RLS among younger children. 11 Numerous studies have documented that WED/RLS is characterized by an underlying genetic predisposition; various genes have been linked to the WED/RLS phenotype.…”

“…When one considers the possibility of WED/RLS in a pediatric patient, it is helpful to determine if one of the child's parents has the disease. 10 WED/RLS is a typical "case-description" disease, as it is diagnosed when 5 criteria are met by the patient. 6,9 The criteria are as follows: 1) The patient must be either resting or inactive (lying down or sitting); 2) The patient feels an urge to move his/her legs, an urge that is usually accompanied by paresthesias deep inside the legs or pain; 3) The symptoms are relieved by movement; 4) The symptoms occur exclusively or predominantly during the evening and night; and 5) The symptoms are not the result of any other medical or behavioral condition.…”

Restless Legs Syndrome, and symptoms of Restless Syndrome in patients with Graves' disease: a cross-sectional survey

“…Restless legs syndrome (RLS), also known as Willis-Ekbom disease (WED), is a sensorimotor disorder which is diagnosed based on specific clinical criteria ( 1 - 4 ). While the disease occurs mainly in adults, children have also been reportedly affected ( 3 - 5 ). It often manifests as a comorbid condition alongside several unrelated diseases ( 6 ).…”