Restless Legs Syndrome among the epilepsy patient who took carbamazepine or valproic acid monotherapy

Abstract

SummaryObjectives: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sensory-motor disorder. RLS is characterized by intense restlessness and unpleasant sensation deep inside the legs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of RLS among the epileptic patients who took carbamazepine (CBZ) or valproic acid (VPA) monotherapy and the findings were compared normal subjects and general population. Methods: Patients who took VPA and CBZ monotherapy and followed up at least six months in our department were included in this study. The diagnosis of RLS was made according to the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group criteria. Findings were compared with age-sex matched normal subjects and general population. Results: Ninety-two patients were included in this study. Fifty-seven of them were taking VPA and remaining thirty-five were taking CBZ. We found RLS in two (2.2%) of them (one of them taking VPA, the other CBZ). The percentage of RLS in normal subject was 6%. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: We interpret this result as indirect evidence of treatment of RLS symptoms with CBZ and VA therapy when the finding was compared with general population and normal subjects.Key words: Epilepsy; restless legs syndrome; carbamazepine; valproic acid. ÖzetAmaç: Huzursuz bacak sendromu (HBS) sık görülen sensorimotor bir bozukluktur. HBS özellikle gece ve istirahatte olan bacağın derinlerinde hissedilen rahatsız edici, huzur bozucu bir hisle karakterizedir. Bu çalışmada karbamazepin (CBZ) ve valproik asit (VPA) monoterapisi alan epilepsi hastalarında huzursuz bacak sendromu sıklığı araştırıldı, normal bireyler ve genel popülasyon ile kıyaslandı. Gereç ve Yöntem:Karbamazepin ve VPA monoterapisi alan ve en az altı ay bölümümüzde takip edilen hastalar çalışmaya dahil edildi. HBS tanısı Uluslararası Huzursuz Bacak Sendromu Çalışma Grubu kriterlerine göre yapıldı. Bulgular yaş, cinsiyet karşılaştırmalı normal kişilerle ve genel popülasyon verileriyle karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: Doksan iki hasta çalışmaya alındı. Bu hastalardan 57'si VPA, 35'i CBZ kullanmaktaydı. HBS iki (%2.2) hastada bulundu (biri VPA, diğeri CBZ kullanıyordu). Çalışmamızda normal kişilerde ise HBS oranı %6 idi. Bununla beraber, bu fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı değildi.Sonuç: Bulgular normal kişiler ve genel popülasyonla karşılaştırıldığında, bu sonuçları CBZ ve VPA tedavisinin HBS tedavisindeki indirekt etkisine bağlayabiliriz.Anahtar sözcükler: Epilepsi; huzursuz bacak sendromu; karbamazepin; valproik asit.

Frequency of Restless Legs Syndrome in adults with epilepsy in Turkey

“…Subjects with RLS in these studies had a mean age in the early 40s and a female:male ratio of 1.6-2.4:1, both slightly higher than was observed in the current analysis. Our prevalence estimate is higher than the 2.2% estimate from the only other study exploring RLS in epilepsy that included Turkish adult patients taking CBZ or VPA monotherapy using the same diagnostic criteria [7]. The sample characteristics of this study are vague, precluding direct comparison with our sample.…”

“…Turkish patients with epilepsy taking valproic acid (VPA) or carbamazepine (CBZ), RLS was observed in 2.2% using standard diagnostic criteria vs. 6% in controls, suggesting that these drugs may be effective in the treatment of RLS [7].…”

Restless Legs Syndrome in Patients with Epilepsy Under Levetiracetam Monotherapy

“…Anticonvulsant drugs such as gabapentine and pregabalin showed good efficacy (9). There were also few studies and case reports on other anticonvulsant drugs such as carbamezapine, valproic acid and LEV (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). Levetiracetam (LEV) is an effective and broad-spectrum anticonvulsant drug that is used in partial as well as generalized epilepsies (16,17).…”