Plasma copeptin levels in patients with restless legs syndrome

Copeptin, the C-terminal fragment of antidiuretic hormone, is a new biomarker that has been found to be elevated in several disorders and could be related with prognosis. This study aimed to compare plasma copeptin levels in patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) with healthy individuals and to investigate whether plasma copeptin levels were associated with the severity of disease.

41 patients with primary RLS, who were followed in Bakirkoy Psychiatry and Neurology Research and Training Hospital and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were included into the study. RLS patients were divided into subgroups as mild-moderate, severe, and very severe according to the severity of symptoms. Sleep quality and excessive daytime sleepiness were determined according to Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, respectively, and sleep quality scores were analyzed statistically among the groups divided according to disease severity. Copeptin levels in all the patients were compared to the controls. RLS subgroups were compared with each other to evaluate association between copeptin levels and disease severity.

Plasma copeptin levels in RLS patients were significantly higher than controls (P < .001). However, there was no association between copeptin levels and disease severity. Excessive daytime sleepiness was found as 14.63% and low sleep quality as 68.29% in patients.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation and sympathetic hyperactivity in RLS might be responsible for increased Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and copeptin release. We think that copeptin might have a potential role in the pathogenesis of RLS and be a biomarker for this disease.