Causes
Restless legs syndrome can be primary andsecondary. The primary disorder usually occurs before the age of 35 and is hereditary. The degree of manifestation of the disease is determined by the activity of genes. However, this syndrome is a multifactorial pathology and therefore is caused by a complex of genetic and environmental factors. Secondary restless legs syndrome, which is also called symptomatic, occurs in people over 40 years of age. It develops against the background of some disease. Most often, the syndrome appears with:
- pregnancy;
- uremia;
- iron deficiency.
Pregnant women are at riskoccurrence of restless legs disease during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. After childbirth, the syndrome most often goes away on its own. However, in some cases, it can remain and bother the rest of life. Uremia (increased urea levels in the blood) develops mainly in people with renal failure. It is in such patients undergoing a blood purification course that the percentage of restless legs syndrome cases is very high. In addition to the above-mentioned conditions, restless legs syndrome can be caused by:
- diabetes;
- obesity;
- post-poliomyelitis syndrome;
- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
- essential tremor;
- diseases of the spinal cord;
- venous insufficiency of the legs;
- porphyria;
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- pathology of the thyroid gland;
- alcoholism.
There are cases when the cause of occurrenceRestless legs syndrome is a genetic predisposition provoked by unfavorable environmental factors. The latter include excessive coffee consumption, iron deficiency or polyneuropathy. Therefore, the boundary between the 2 forms of the syndrome in this case is conditional. Obesity increases the risk of developing the syndrome by almost 50%. A special category includes obese people under 20 years of age. In neurological patients, the disease can occur as a result of a coincidence of 2 pathologies, as a consequence of taking medications, with a coincidence of common links in the development of diseases. In people with primary syndrome, the results of a neurological examination, as a rule, do not reveal any disorders, but in people with secondary syndrome, neurological or somatic pathologies are most often detected.
Symptoms and manifestations
With restless legs syndrome, a person does notis in pain. The patient suffers from crawling ants, pressure, burning, twitching in the thighs, calves, shins and feet. These unpleasant sensations involuntarily force the patient to move his legs, constantly wiggling them. Sometimes walking around the room weakens or completely removes the discomfort. These restless states in most cases occur in the evening, before bed or in the first half of the night. By the morning, the discomfort passes and does not make itself known until midday. The patient cannot sleep normally, he develops insomnia, he becomes irritable, quickly gets tired. In such a state, some cannot even go to visit, to the theater or other public places. In other words, those suffering from restless legs syndrome cannot live a full life, since they literally cannot find a place for themselves. Sometimes this condition exhausts the nervous system so much that it can lead to disability.
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosis of restless legs syndrome is notis complex. It is based on several criteria, which are based on the patient's complaints. The 4 criteria listed below are often enough to make an accurate diagnosis:
If a person gives a positive answer to eachout of 4 questions, then most likely he has restless legs syndrome. During the diagnosis, questions can be asked both orally and in writing.
Treatment of the syndrome
Restless legs syndrome treatment should be based onwhether it is a primary or secondary pathology. In the case of a secondary syndrome, it is necessary to identify the disease against which it developed and begin treatment. It is advisable to check whether the patient has vitamin deficiency. If it is detected, it is necessary to eliminate the deficiency. Most often, the syndrome is associated with iron deficiency. In such cases, treatment is carried out using iron preparations in tablets, or intramuscular and intravenous injections. In this case, the level of ferritin in the blood should be monitored. The use of such medications as neuroleptics, lithium preparations, antidepressants, adrenergic agonists, adrenergic blockers, calcium antagonists, antihistamines leads to an increase in the symptoms of the disease. Therefore, when treating the pathological condition of restless legs, it is advisable to exclude or replace these drugs. Primary restless legs syndrome should include symptomatic treatment, that is, aimed at alleviating or eliminating discomfort in the patient. In this case, drug and non-drug forms of treatment are distinguished. The use of medicinal forms is advisable only in case of ineffectiveness of non-drug treatment and serious reduction in quality of life. In this case, such groups of drugs as opiates, anticonvulsants, dopaminergic agents, benzodiazepines can be used. All these medications affect the nervous system, so they should be used only under the supervision of a specialist. The following can be attributed to non-drug treatment:
Timely visits to the doctor largely depend onThe effectiveness of restless legs syndrome treatment depends on it. Therefore, at the first symptoms, you need to go to a specialist and describe your sensations in as much detail as possible.
