Restless Legs Syndrome in Behcet's Disease

Abstract

The prevalence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and its association with the clinical features of Behcet's disease (BD) has not previously been elucidated. The inflammatory character, central nervous system involvement and neuropathies of BD led to this investigation of RLS risk in BD patients. A total of 116 BD patients and 104 healthy control subjects were included; seven BD patients were excluded because of concurrent diseases, pregnancy or alcohol misuse that might cause RLS symptoms, and the remaining 109 BD patients were included in the analysis. The prevalence of RLS was significantly higher in patients with BD (32/109; 29.4%) than in controls (5/104; 4.8%). No significant differences were found between BD patients with and without RLS with regard to the clinical features of BD. RLS severity positively correlated with age in BD patients. In conclusion, BD-related RLS should be considered in symptomatic RLS secondary to rheumatological disorders and BD patients should be examined for RLS. Further studies are needed to clarify the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying BD-related RLS.