Restless Legs Syndrome across the Lifespan: Symptoms, Pathophysiology, Management and Daily Life Impact of the Different Patterns of Disease Presentation

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome is a common but still underdiagnosed neurologic disorder, characterized by peculiar symptoms typically occurring in the evening and at night, and resulting in sleep disruption and daily functioning impairment. This disease can affect subjects of all age ranges and of both sexes, manifesting itself with a broad spectrum of severity and deserving special attention in certain patient categories, in order to achieve a correct diagnosis and an effective treatment. The diagnosis of restless legs syndrome can be challenging in some patients, especially children and elderly people, and an effective treatment might be far from being easy to achieve after some years of drug therapy, notably when dopaminergic agents are used. Moreover, the pathophysiology of this disorder offers an interesting example of interaction between genetics and the environment, considering strong iron metabolism involvement and its interaction with recognized individual genetic factors. Therefore, this syndrome allows clinicians to verify how lifespan and time can modify diagnosis and treatment of a neurological disorder.