Welcome to
The Nordic Restless Legs
Study Group
- increasing awareness of RLS and supporting improvement of RLS management
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a neurological sensory-motor disorder defined by an urge to move the legs accompanied by leg discomfort.
- It is present at rest and generally relieved by movement. The symptoms vary during the day but in general they are most prominent in the evening or during the night.
- Study results from the last decade indicate a prevalence rate between 5-15 percent. The prevalence of clinically significant RLS is around 3 percent.
- In 50-60 percent of the cases a familial connection has been demonstrated and identical twin studies have proven an 83 percent concordance suggesting a genetic basis for RLS. Several genetic loci and a few candidate genes have been found.
- Secondary RLS can be traced back to medical disorders such as iron deficiency and uraemia, other conditions such as pregnancy and neurological disorders such as polyneuropathies.