[A 70-year-old woman presenting with restless shoulder following posterior internal capsule infarction]

White and Gray Matter Abnormalities in Young Adult Females with Dependent Personality Disorder: A Diffusion-Tensor Imaging and Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

We applied diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) including measurements of fractional anisotropy (FA), a parameter of neuronal fiber integrity, mean diffusivity (MD), a parameter of brain tissue integrity, as well as voxel-based morphometry (VBM), a measure of gray and white matter volume, to provide a basis to improve our understanding of the neurobiological basis of dependent personality disorder (DPD). DTI was performed on young girls with DPD (N = 17) and young female healthy controls (N = 17). Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used to examine microstructural characteristics. Gray matter volume differences between the two groups were investigated using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). The Pearson correlation analysis was utilized to examine the relationship between distinct brain areas of white matter and gray matter and the Dy score on the MMPI. The DPD had significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA) values than the HC group in the right retrolenticular part of the internal capsule, right external capsule, the corpus callosum, right posterior thalamic radiation (include optic radiation), right cerebral peduncle (p < 0.05), which was strongly positively correlated with the Dy score of MMPI. The volume of gray matter in the right postcentral gyrus and left cuneus in DPD was significantly increased (p < 0.05), which was strongly positively correlated with the Dy score of MMPI (r1,2= 0.467,0.353; p1,2 = 0.005,0.04). Our results provide new insights into the changes in the brain structure in DPD, which suggests that alterations in the brain structure might implicate the pathophysiology of DPD. Possible visual and somatosensory association with motor nerve circuits in DPD.

Restless legs syndrome and its variants in acute ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND

The clinical-radiological correlation between restless legs syndrome (RLS) or its variants and acute ischemic stroke remains unclear.

METHODS

This study prospectively included 104 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, confirmed by diffusion-weighted imaging. The frequency and clinical characteristics of RLS or RLS variants were evaluated according to the International RLS Study Group criteria, as was the topography of the associated lesions.

RESULTS

Among 104 patients with acute ischemic stroke, 6 (5.8%) and 2 patients (1.9%) had RLS and RLS variants, respectively, for a total of 8 patients (7.7%). Three (3.3%) had poststroke RLS/RLS variants: 2 (66.7%) had bilateral symptoms and 1 (33.3%) had unilateral symptoms contralateral to the lesion. RLS symptoms developed within 2 days after the onset of stroke. Forty percent of prestroke RLS/RLS variant patients experienced exacerbation of their symptoms after stroke onset, and two-thirds of poststroke RLS/RLS variant patients required treatment for their RLS/RLS variants. Patients positive for RLS/RLS variants tended to have difficulty falling asleep, but there was no difference in daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, stroke subtypes, comorbid diseases, laboratory data, or modified Rankin Scale scores at admission or discharge between patients with and without RLS/RLS variants. RLS/RLS variants were most frequently observed to accompany lesions in the medulla (25%), followed by the pons (15.4%), the corona radiata (14.8%), the basal ganglia (3.8%), and the cortex (3.8%).

CONCLUSION

RLS/RLS variants were found in 8% of acute ischemic stroke patients. Adequate screening and management are needed to improve patients' quality of life.

Restless arms syndrome: prevalence, impact, and management strategies

This literature review focuses on restless arms syndrome (RAS), an upper limb variant of restless legs syndrome (RLS). RLS, also known as Willis-Ekbom disease, is a frequently occurring 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, improved by movement. Extension of leg restlessness to the upper limbs is frequently reported in typical patients who had RLS only in the legs and usually occurs later in the course of RLS, restlessness remaining most invalidating in the lower limbs. In RAS, the arms are predominantly affected with little or no involvement of the legs. Cases of restless shoulders syndrome or periodic arm movements without arm restlessness were not considered. A total of 9 articles with 10 cases were included and analyzed for the adherence to the five essential diagnostic criteria of the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) classification, as well as for the additional supportive features. All of the reported cases were classified as having definite RAS. The clinical history and disease evolution of two previously reported patients were completed and updated. Overall, the clinical picture of RAS does not differ from that of RLS, except for the symptoms localization on the upper limbs. Underlying mechanisms of the spread of RLS to upper limb restlessness and of RAS remain unknown. Whether RAS is a phenotypic variant of RLS or a separate entity needs further investigations. RAS likely remains underdiagnosed and according to IRLSSG diagnostic criteria RAS should be considered when RLS-like symptoms are present in one or both arms, especially when they have a circadian pattern and are improved by movement and dopaminergic therapy. Clinicians should be aware of this rare condition, especially as treatment using dopaminergic agonists proves to be very efficient.