Dopaminergic treatment of restless legs syndrome in spinal cord injury patients with neuropathic pain

Restless leg syndrome in spinal cord injury: case report

CASE DESCRIPTION

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition infrequently reported in spinal cord injury that causes an uncomfortable sensation in the legs and an urge to move them. We report a case involving a 63-year-old man with incomplete paraplegia with an onset of RLS four years post injury.

FINDINGS

Based upon history, pramipexole was prescribed for the presumptive diagnosis of RLS, with good effect. Initial workup revealed an anemia (hemoglobin of 9.3 gram/deciliter (g/dl)) and iron deficiency (ferritin of 10 microgram/liter (μg/L)), necessitating further evaluation.

CONCLUSION

Due to the complexities in diagnosing RLS in patients with SCI, it is important to be cognizant of symptoms and to consider this diagnosis to initiate the appropriate work-up for an etiology, of which iron deficiency anemia is common.

Clinical and neuropathological variability in the rare IVS10 + 14 tau mutation

Mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau gene are known to cause progressive neurodegenerative disorders with variable clinical and neuropathological phenotypes, including the intronic 10 + 14 (IVS10 + 14) splice site mutation. Three families have been reported with the IVS10 + 14 microtubule-associated protein tau mutation. Here, we describe the clinical and neuropathological data from an additional family. Neuropathological data were available for 2 of the 3 cases, III-4, and III-5. While III-5 had widespread tau deposition and atrophy, III-4 exhibited more mild neuropathological changes except for the substantia nigra. The previously reported families that express the IVS10 + 14 mutation exhibited significant interfamilial heterogeneity, with symptoms including amyotrophy, dementia, disinhibition, parkinsonism, and breathing problems. In addition to expressing many of these symptoms, members of this fourth family experienced profound sensory abnormalities and sleep disturbance. Although there were probable clinicopathological correlates for the symptoms expressed by the earlier families and III-5 from our cohort, pathology in III-4 did not appear sufficient to explain symptom severity. This indicates the need to explore alternate mechanisms of tau-induced brain dysfunction.

An examination of diurnal variations in neuropathic pain and affect, on exercise and non-exercise days, in adults with spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

Case series.

OBJECTIVES

The temporal relationships between exercise, neuropathic pain and affect are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to utilize ecological momentary assessment to measure intra-individual diurnal variations in neuropathic pain and affect on exercise and non-exercise days. This study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of how neuropathic pain and affect change from pre- to post-exercise, and over time.

SETTING

Community.

METHODS

Six physically active men with SCI participated in a 6-day protocol (M age = 39.33 ± 8.24; 83.3% tetraplegics; years post injury = 6-17 years). Using their Smartphones, participants completed the Feeling Scale, Felt Arousal Scale, and Neuropathic Pain Scale in response to six daily prompts, and before and after exercise. Paired samples t-tests were conducted on changes in neuropathic pain and affect from pre to post-exercise. Bivariate Pearson's correlational analyses were computed between time of day, neuropathic pain and affect.

RESULTS

Participants experienced a significant decrease in neuropathic pain (t(5) = 3.93; p = 0.01) following completion of at least one bout of exercise. A large, but non-significant increase (Hgav = 0.76) in Feeling Scale scores occurred following one bout of exercise. Time of day, neuropathic pain and affect were significantly correlated for two participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, results suggest exercise can reduce neuropathic pain, and may also increase feelings of pleasure. Given the inconsistent pattern of results across participants, further research is needed to look at both individual characteristics, and characteristics of exercise that may moderate changes in neuropathic pain and affect for adults with SCI.

Restless legs syndrome related to hemorrhage of a thoracic spinal cord cavernoma

CONTEXT

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder characterized by an irresistible urge to move the lower limbs often accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the legs, worsened at rest and in the evening. Symptoms are improved by movement. Its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Lesion-related RLS has been reported, mainly in cases of stroke-related RLS involving the brainstem and lenticulostriate nuclei. Only few data of RLS in a context of spinal cord injury have been reported.

FINDINGS

We report the case of a woman with secondary RLS due to hemorrhage of a spinal cord cavernoma located at T9-T10. Following recovery from the acute phase of the hemorrhage, the patient began to complain about restlessness in her legs causing impaired sleep and daytime somnolence. Polysomnographic investigations found a high index of periodic leg movements during sleep (71/hour), but no sleep disordered breathing. Iron stores were normal. Relief of symptom's severity was obtained with gabapentin 600mg in the evening.

CONCLUSION/CLINICAL RELEVANCE

We hypothesize a possible involvement of the diencephalospinal pathway in the patient's RLS pathophysiology. A systematic study of focal lesions associated with RLS may contribute to improving our understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this condition. The frequency of RLS associated with lesions of the spinal cord might be underestimated. Clinicians should be aware of spinal cord lesion-related RLS, especially as efficient treatments are available.