Sleep fragmentation and motor restlessness in a Drosophila model of Restless Legs Syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), first chronicled by Willis in 1672 and described in more detail by Ekbom in 1945, is a prevalent sensorimotor neurological disorder (5%-10% in the population) with a circadian predilection for the evening and night. Characteristic clinical features also include a compelling urge to move during periods of rest, relief with movement, involuntary movements in sleep (viz., periodic leg movements of sleep), and fragmented sleep. Although the pathophysiology of RLS is unknown, dopaminergic neurotransmission and deficits in iron availability modulate expressivity. Genome-wide association studies have identified a polymorphism in an intronic region of the BTBD9 gene on chromosome 6 that confers substantial risk for RLS. Here, we report that loss of the Drosophila homo

SUBMITTER: Freeman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3381864 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature