TY - JOUR
T1 - Subclinical abnormal EMG activation of the gastrocnemii during gait analysis in restless legs syndrome
T2 - A preliminary report in 13 patients
AU - Paci, Domenico
AU - Lanuzza, Bartolo
AU - Cosentino, F. I I
AU - Belfiore, Antonella
AU - Papotto, Maurizio
AU - Cocilovo, Anna
AU - Iero, Ivan
AU - Tripodi, Mariangela
AU - Ferri, Raffaele
PY - 2009/3
Y1 - 2009/3
N2 - Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect the eventual presence of a minor voluntary motor involvement in restless legs syndrome (RLS), not detectable clinically, which might be observed by means of a sophisticated instrumental analysis of movement, such as gait analysis. Subjects and methods: Gait analysis was performed and surface EMG activity was recorded in 13 RLS patients and 8 normal controls from 8 muscles: tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius lateralis, gastrocnemius medialis, and soleus in both legs. Results: Ten out of the 13 RLS patients and none of the normal control group showed a mild abnormality of the EMG activation of the gastrocnemius muscles during gait which, however, had no detectable effects on its kinematics. Conclusions: These preliminary results might be interpreted as the effect of an impaired supraspinal dopaminergic control with possible action on spinal structures involved in the control of gait. If confirmed in future studies, this mild EMG abnormality might constitute an additional supportive feature for the diagnosis of RLS in difficult cases.
AB - Objective: The purpose of this study was to detect the eventual presence of a minor voluntary motor involvement in restless legs syndrome (RLS), not detectable clinically, which might be observed by means of a sophisticated instrumental analysis of movement, such as gait analysis. Subjects and methods: Gait analysis was performed and surface EMG activity was recorded in 13 RLS patients and 8 normal controls from 8 muscles: tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius lateralis, gastrocnemius medialis, and soleus in both legs. Results: Ten out of the 13 RLS patients and none of the normal control group showed a mild abnormality of the EMG activation of the gastrocnemius muscles during gait which, however, had no detectable effects on its kinematics. Conclusions: These preliminary results might be interpreted as the effect of an impaired supraspinal dopaminergic control with possible action on spinal structures involved in the control of gait. If confirmed in future studies, this mild EMG abnormality might constitute an additional supportive feature for the diagnosis of RLS in difficult cases.
KW - Dopaminergic control
KW - EMG
KW - Gait analysis
KW - Gait kinematics
KW - Restless legs syndrome
KW - Supraspinal control
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U2 - 10.1016/j.sleep.2008.04.007
DO - 10.1016/j.sleep.2008.04.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 18753001
AN - SCOPUS:64449088557
VL - 10
SP - 312
EP - 316
JO - Sleep Medicine
JF - Sleep Medicine
SN - 1389-9457
IS - 3
ER -