Restless Leg Syndrome Found to Be Genetic

July 19, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- If you toss and turn and you can't get a good night's sleep, you are not alone. That constant wriggling and twisting is not in your head. Health Specialist Denise Dador has some new information about restless leg syndrome.

It is not in your head, it's in your genetics. A brand new study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports the ailment which causes so many sleepless nights is actually based in your genes and gets passed down from generation to generation. The new research could help doctors develop new and better treatments.

"It's hard to keep a brave face all of the time, especially when you don t sleep for so long," Lynnv Kaiser has not had a good night's sleep in 13 years.

"It's lonely. It can be depressing. The nighttime is very painful for me, and it's very isolating," says Lynn.

All because of restless leg syndrome, an uncomfortable condition which causes involuntary leg kicking,

As if that weren't bad enough, sufferers like Lynn had to deal with doubts that their condition is even real. But now scientists have isolated the gene that causes the twitches. The discovery appears to prove that it's not just in the patient's head.

Restless legs gained pop-culture status in a "Seinfeld" episode, in which Kramer coins a new phrase for the condition: "Got the jimmy legs."

Scientists say iron deficiency in the brain seems to be the most likely culprit. Iron is involved in the making of the chemical dopamine, which governs sensation and movement. Less iron means decreased levels of dopamine in the brain.

Requip, a commonly prescribed drug for RLS, helps bring dopamine back to normal levels. That temporarily calms the leg twitches.

But this new study may provide long-term relief for the almost 5 million Americans, including Lynn, who just want a good night's rest.

"My goal is to manage it, rather than it manage me," says Lynn.

Restless Leg Syndrome strikes some women when they reach menopause, because as we mentioned, it's associated with low levels of iron, which is depleted during menopause. But this new gene discovery could help doctors determine who's more at risk, and hopefully it will lead to better treatments.

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