Restless legs syndrome and its variants in acute ischemic stroke

The clinical-radiological correlation between restless legs syndrome (RLS) or its variants and acute ischemic stroke remains unclear.

This study prospectively included 104 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, confirmed by diffusion-weighted imaging. The frequency and clinical characteristics of RLS or RLS variants were evaluated according to the International RLS Study Group criteria, as was the topography of the associated lesions.

Among 104 patients with acute ischemic stroke, 6 (5.8%) and 2 patients (1.9%) had RLS and RLS variants, respectively, for a total of 8 patients (7.7%). Three (3.3%) had poststroke RLS/RLS variants: 2 (66.7%) had bilateral symptoms and 1 (33.3%) had unilateral symptoms contralateral to the lesion. RLS symptoms developed within 2 days after the onset of stroke. Forty percent of prestroke RLS/RLS variant patients experienced exacerbation of their symptoms after stroke onset, and two-thirds of poststroke RLS/RLS variant patients required treatment for their RLS/RLS variants. Patients positive for RLS/RLS variants tended to have difficulty falling asleep, but there was no difference in daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, stroke subtypes, comorbid diseases, laboratory data, or modified Rankin Scale scores at admission or discharge between patients with and without RLS/RLS variants. RLS/RLS variants were most frequently observed to accompany lesions in the medulla (25%), followed by the pons (15.4%), the corona radiata (14.8%), the basal ganglia (3.8%), and the cortex (3.8%).

RLS/RLS variants were found in 8% of acute ischemic stroke patients. Adequate screening and management are needed to improve patients' quality of life.