Abstract:
ABSTRACT
The two disorders of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) and Periodic Limb Movements
(PLM) are well recognised as fairly common neurological disorders. The presentation is
of a sensory and motor component suggestive of a state of hyperexcitability of the
nervous system. The underlying abnormality is believed to involve a dopamine
deficiency but many of characteristics of the disorders have not been adequately
described or quantified. I investigated, firstly, the possible reasons for the gender bias in
the prevalence studies and found that women were more likely to have some associated
conditions which may be related to RLS as well as a higher symptom load when
compared to men subjects with RLS. I then looked at the problems of analysing the
sensations occurring in RLS. Due to the lack of an adequate measuring tool and the
possibility of a relationship between the sensations of RLS and those of pain, I used a
validated descriptive pain questionnaire (the McGill pain questionnaire) to measure the
sensations of RLS. Subjects with RLS were able to describe the sensations with the pain
questionnaire and severity indices calculated from the McGill correlated well with
measures of RLS severity but not with other intensity measures for pain. In the area of
motor events I investigated the possibility of creating a classification system for the
muscle activations documented as PLM. I recorded multiple muscle groups in the legs
during sleep and devised a classification using sequence of activation and timing of
activations from the different muscles. I also used the classification to show subtle
changes in the leg activation patterns associated with change in sleep stage.
