A Polysomnographic Study on Periodic Limb Movements in Patients with Restless Legs Syndrome and Neuroleptic-induced Akathisia

Inami Yasushi

Horiguchi Jun

Nishimatsu Ohichi

Sasaki Akira

Sukegawa Tsuruhei

Katagiri Hideaki

Yamawaki Shigeto

Hiroshima Journal of Medical Sciences

[PISSN] 0018-2052

[EISSN] 2433-7668

[NCID] AA00664312

Eighteen patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) and 4 patients with neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) underwent all-night polysomnographic recordings before and during clonazepam treatment. Ten normal control subjects and 4 non-akathitic psychiatric patients treated with neuroleptics underwent polysomnographic recordings, which were compared with those of the RLS and NIA patients, respectively. Daily treatment with 0.5 to 3 mg clonazepam improved subjective complaints of 17 out of 18 patients with RLS and all the 4 patients with NIA. All the 18 patients with RLS exhibited periodic limb movements (PLM) on the polysomnograms before treatment, but only 2 of 10 control subjects exhibited PLM. Three of the 4 patients with NIA exhibited PLM, but none of the 4 controls on neuroleptics showed PLM. Clonazepam decreased the total number of PLM per hour in patients of both RLS and NIA.

Periodic limb movement disorder

Restless legs syndrome

Akathisia

Medical sciences [ 490 ]

eng

Hiroshima University Medical Press

[ISSN] 0018-2052

[NCID] AA00664312