Restless Leg Syndrome and Psychotropic Drug

하지불안증후군과 정신과 약물

  • Woo, Jung-Min (Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University) ;
  • Chang, Sung-Man (Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University)
  • 우정민 (경북대학교 의과대학 정신의학교실) ;
  • 장성만 (경북대학교 의과대학 정신의학교실)
  • Received : 2010.02.25
  • Accepted : 2010.04.27
  • Published : 2010.06.30

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sensorimotor disorder that is characterized by an urge to move the legs and peculiar, unpleasant sensations deep in the legs and its prevalence in the general population is between 3.2% and 15%. RLS significantly impairs patients' lives, often by severely disrupting sleep. However, both clinicians and patients under-recognize the RLS. RLS phenotypes include an idiopathic form and secondary form that is usually resulted from various causative conditions. The pathophysiology of RLS may be related with the dopaminergic system, which is closely linked to a number of psychotropic medications, including antidepressant and antipsychotics. Several antidepressants and antipsychotics have been shown to induce or exacerbate RLS. We need pay attention to the fact that commonly prescribed medications can be the cause of RLS.

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