Periodic limb movement disorder

Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) is characterized an elevated number of periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS) and nighttime or daytime symptoms not explained by the presence of other comorbidities. The accurate assessment of the prevalence and significance of PLMD is therefore clouded by the high number of comorbidities and medications that exacerbate or precipitate PLMS, such as antidopaminergics, antidepressants and antihistaminergics or kidney disease, heart disease and iron deficiency anemia. Due to the difficulty in identification of these patients, a wide variety of prevalence of PLMD in both adults and children has been reported. Furthermore, since the diagnosis of PLMD requires a PSG (not required by the diagnostic criteria of many other sleep disorders), its true prevalence remains unknown. Treatment options for PLMD include the same options than for patients with restless legs syndrome, oral or intravenous iron supplementation, dopamine agonists, gabapentin, opiods and, to a lesser extent, benzodiazepines. More research is needed in the area of PLMD, in both adults and children, to assess prevalence, natural progression of the disorder and consequences of untreated PLMD.