• İlker Öztürk, Kezban Aslan, Hacer Bozdemir, and Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer.
• Çukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, 1380 Sarıçam, Adana, Turkey. Electronic address: ilkerozturk01@hotmail.com.
• Epilepsy Behav. 2016 Apr 1; 57 (Pt A): 192-195.

BackgroundRestless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a common disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move the legs particularly during rest in the evenings often leading to insomnia and daytime impairment. No prior studies estimate the prevalence of RLS in a diverse sample of adults with epilepsy using standard diagnostic criteria.Material And MethodA total of 225 patients with epilepsy (61.8% female; mean age 33.3 ± 12.3 years) seen in the epilepsy clinic of Çukurova University Neurology Department were included. Restless Legs Syndrome diagnosis was based on structured interviews using internationally accepted criteria. Demographic and epilepsy-related variables were obtained through medical record review.ResultsThe prevalence of RLS was 5.8% (n=13). Mean score on the International RLS Study Group rating scale for these subjects was 9.3 ± 3.6 (6-18). Ten (76.9%) patients with RLS scored in the mild range and the remainder in the moderate range of severity. Patients with RLS were not significantly different from others in terms of demographics, epilepsy classification or duration, treatment regimen (polytherapy vs. monotherapy), patient-reported sleep assessment, or relevant laboratory data.ConclusionThe prevalence of RLS in adults with epilepsy was similar to that observed in the adult general Turkish population (3.18-5.2%), although we excluded subjects with conditions associated with RLS, rendering ours a conservative estimate. While preliminary, these findings support the need for future studies exploring RLS in epilepsy given the potential impact of untreated sleep disorders and sleep deprivation on seizures and quality of life in people with epilepsy.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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