MRI OF RLS · Magnetic resonance imaging of the restless Legs Syndrome
FP6 — Marie Curie Actions (Human Resources and Mobility)
- Duration
- 2005-09-01 → 2007-08-31
- EU contribution
- €80,000
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- IRG
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Results in brief
Final Activity Report Summary - MRI OF RLS (Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Restless Legs Syndrome)
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder characterised by a distressing urge to move the legs, and sometimes other parts of the body as well, usually accompanied by a marked sense of discomfort or pain in the leg or other affected body parts. Although frequently under-diagnosed, several epidemiological studies have estimated its prevalence in western countries at 4 to 10 % of the general population. Despite of the growing body of literature on the RLS during the last few years, the underlying causes of the disorder remain unclear. RLS increasingly appears to be a complex disorder, probably influenced by a variety of genetic factors and other causes that may work through a variety of biochemical systems as well as a number of prominent environmental factors. In this project, RLS patients and controls were recruited to explore RLS-related metabolic and neuropathological mechanisms using magnetic resonance imaging. Relaxometry studies confirmed decreased concentration of iron in substancia nigra pars compacta, a significant element of brain motor circuitry. For the first time functional studies revealed the implication of frontal brain areas. Iron deposition was not correlated with brain function. These findings opened new lines of research and rose important questions towards the ultimate goal of understanding the RLS syndrome. They supported the hypothesis that increased frontal activity was associated with RLS, consistent with a proposed role for the circuit frontal cortex-basal ganglia in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Future research would need to further specify the significance of increased activity in these structures in relation to RLS symptoms.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder characterized by a distressing urge to move the legs and sometimes also other parts of the body, usually accompanied by a marked sense of discomfort or pain in the leg or other affected body part. Epidemiological studies in the white population suggest that RLS prevalence in adults' ranges between 5 and 15%. Despite the recent advances in the epidemiology, clinical definition and therapeutic management of the disorder, nowadays RLS still remains a misdiagnosed and poorly treated disorder.The goal of our proposal is to elucidate pathophysiological mechanisms of the RLS, which still remain unclear, using magnetic resonance imaging. Our hypothesis is that presence of a subcortical dopaminergic dysfunction and regional brain iron insufficiency play a major role in RLS pathophysiology. To achieve our goal and test our hypothesis, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate cerebral generators involved in the pathogenesis of RLS. Additionally we will measure iron concentration using T2 relaxometry. We will apply automatic segmentation tools to calculate brain activation and iron content in areas of the central dopaminergic system, particularly the striatonigral system and other areas like the red nucleus, the thalami, the mamillary bodies, the dentate nucleus, the tuber cinereum, the pituitary gland and the pineal gland.Healthy volunteers and idiopathic RLS patients will participate before and after medication. fMRI studies will b e performed at night when RLS symptoms are most pronounced. Statistical and fMRI analysis will evaluate differences between groups and pharmacological effects and will correlate imaging data with standard neurological indices. We anticipate this study to lead to the development of a new protocol for optimal MR neuroimaging of RLS patients and provide new information into RLS pathophysiology yielding unique prospective information for RLS management.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY OF IOANNINA · IOANNINACoordinatorCity levelGreece
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union