The Relation of Restless Legs Syndrome with Diseases of Peripheral Nerves

Many neurologists, particularly whose subspecialty is in peripheral neurology, may agree that patients with peripheral neuropathy often complain of the “restless legs” symptoms. These symptoms seem to share the typical features of the so-called “restless legs syndrome (RLS)”, i.e., unpleasant sensations in the leg/feet, worsening in the evening or at night, and the partial relief of the positive sensory symptoms by the movements such as walking, shaking or rubbing. In fact, a higher incidence of RLS was reported among the neuropathic patients, and peripheral neuropathy was found to be more prevalent in patients with RLS than in general population. Moreover, RLS share many risk factors with peripheral neuropathy such as diabetes, uremia, amyloidosis and cryoglobulinemia, which suggests that peripheral neuropathy may play a pathophysiologic role in the development of RLS.