• Aasef G Shaikh, Prachi Mehndiratta, Carmela Gonzalez, and Brian B Koo.
• Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• Eur. Neurol. 2013 Jan 1; 70 (3-4): 195-200.

AbstractWe propose an analog restless legs syndrome (RLS) rating scale (ARLS) to assess RLS severity. ARLS has three components: overall perceived severity of symptoms, the severity of urge to move and the degree to which symptoms improve with movement, each scored from 0 to 100. ARLS is relatively convenient, easy to administer in clinics and can be rapidly assessed. Our goal was to compare the novel ARLS with the well-known International RLS Study Group scale (IRLS) to assess the efficacy of the ARLS. ARLS and IRLS were administered on 93 occasions. Perceived severity of the disease measured with ARLS positively correlated with the normalized IRLS score (correlation coefficient 0.6; slope 1.2; p<0.0001). Improvement in symptoms after movement inversely correlated with the disease burden as measured with normalized IRLS score (slope -0.94; correlation coefficient 0.4; p=0.0001). For both low and high IRLS scores, the urge to move measured with ARLS saturated, suggesting a non-linear, multifactorial relationship between the perception of RLS severity and the urge to move. In conclusion, individual components of the ARLS correlated well with total IRLS score. We emphasize that the ARLS is a simple RLS rating tool that can be used in clinical settings.© 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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