new study about PREGNANT women and RLS

RLS occurs more frequently in certain populations, including people with end-stage renal disease, women during pregnancy, and people with iron deficiency. Also, RLS/WED in the elderly and children brings other challenges. Sharing your experiences may be extraordinarily helpful to others.
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mackjergens
Posts: 406
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:10 am

new study about PREGNANT women and RLS

Post by mackjergens »

I copied/pasted this info from another RLS message board, on yahoo.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/rlssupport/
Eric from San Mateo posted it on the yahoo RLS message board.
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Finally info on what many RLS mothers go through with motherhood.
Eric/San Mateo
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Hormonal Changes During Pregnancy Boost Restless Legs Syndrome Risk.
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or http://tinyurl.com/ag32qb

A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that the elevation in estradiol levels that occurs during pregnancy is more pronounced in pregnant women with restless legs syndrome (RLS) than in controls.

During the last trimester of pregnancy, levels of the estrogenic steroid hormone estradiol were 34,211 pg/mL in women with RLS and 25,475 pg/mL in healthy controls. At three months postpartum, estradiol levels had dropped to 30.73 pg/mL in the RLS group and 94.92 pg/mL in controls. Other hormone levels did not differ significantly between the study groups.

According to the authors the data strongly suggest that estrogens play an important role in RLS during pregnancy. The study also supports previous reports of high RLS incidence in the last trimester of pregnancy when estradiol is maximally elevated.

"Our findings strongly support the concept that neuroactive hormones play a relevant pathophysiological role in RLS," said principal investigator Thomas Pollmacher, MD, director of the Center for Medical Health at Klinikum Ingolstadt and professor of psychiatry at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. "This information will increase the understanding of RLS in pregnancy and will assist in the development of specific therapeutic approaches."

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine describes RLS as a sleep-related movement disorder that involves an almost irresistible urge to move the legs at night. This urge tends to be accompanied by unusual feelings or sensations, called "paresthesias," that occur deep in the legs. These uncomfortable sensations often are described as a burning, tingling, prickling or jittery feeling. RLS can profoundly disturb a person’s ability to go to sleep or return to sleep after an awakening.

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