Abstract
The neuroanatomical substrate for restless legs syndrome (RLS) is unknown. We identified 4 patients with idiopathic RLS who came to post-mortem examination, where brain and spinal cord tissue were available for neuropathological assessment. Lewy bodies were not identified and α-synuclein immunohistochemistry was uniformly negative. Neurofibrillary tangle pathology was variable and nonspecific. These findings suggest that τ- or α-synuclein brain pathology is not a component of primary RLS. Although chronic ischemic changes were found in all 4 cases, these were probably incidental. The absence of diagnostic microscopic brain or spinal cord pathology suggests that the pathologic substrate may be neurochemical or receptor based.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 695-699 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Movement Disorders |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2004 |
Keywords
- Neuropathology
- Restless legs syndrome
- α-synuclein
- τ-synuclein
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology