A patient with insomnia due to restless leg and periodic limb movement syndrome after stroke–A clinical case

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome (or Willis-Ekbom) presents with an overwhelming need for movement of the lower limbs in order to eliminate the unpleasant sensations in them, which appear during rest and sleep. The unpleasant sensations are described as “tingling, pulling or pain” in the knees, ankles, or through the entire lower limbs. Periodic limb movement syndrome presents with involuntary movements of the lower limbs or the body during sleep, for which the patient has no recollection, unlike in those in restless leg syndrome. In most cases they present with four or more successive movements of dorsal flection of the toes and ancles with partial flection of the knees and hips divided into five to 90 second intervals.<br /> A 44-year-old man, a taxi driver, is admitted in a neurological clinic with complaints of a headache, dizziness, exhaustion, which he associates with difficulty falling asleep and maintaining a sleeping state after an ischemic stroke in the right middle cerebral artery four months earlier. The conducted polysomnography reveals an increased sleep latency, periodic limb movement syndrome and multiple arousals before entering REM sleep.