Apples for Health- Restless legs linked to sex hormone

Restless legs linked to sex hormone

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Elevation of the sex hormone estradiol during pregnancy is more pronounced in women with restless legs syndrome than in those without, German researchers say.

Dr. Thomas Pollmacher, director of the Center for Medical Health at Klinikum Ingolstadt who was the principal investigator, and Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, says that during the last trimester of pregnancy, levels of the estrogenic steroid hormone estradiol were 34,211 picograms per milliliter in women with restless legs syndrome and 25,475 picograms per milliliter in healthy controls.

The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that at three months postpartum, estradiol levels had dropped to 30.73 picograms per milliliter in the restless legs syndrome group and 94.92 picograms per milliliter in controls. Other hormone levels did not differ significantly between the study groups, Pollmacher says.

"Our findings strongly support the concept that neuroactive hormones play a relevant pathophysiological role in restless legs syndrome," Pollmacher said in a statement. "This information will increase the understanding of restless legs syndrome in pregnancy and will assist in the development of specific therapeutic approaches."

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine describes restless legs syndrome as a sleep-related movement disorder that involves an almost irresistible urge to move the legs at night.