The effect of vitamin D on restless legs syndrome: prospective self-controlled case study. - GreenMedInfo Summary

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of vitamin D on severity of restless legs syndrome in patients with idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS).

METHODS: Patients with idiopathic RLS completed questionnaires including the International Restless Legs Severity Scale (IRLSS) and were evaluated for vitamin D deficiency. Patients with deficiency of vitamin D were treated with 50,000 units per week for 2 months. At the end of the 2 months, vitamin D levels were re-measured and disease severity was re-evaluated in patients who reached adequate vitamin D level. Subgroups of IRLSS questionnaire were also analyzed.

RESULTS: Of 35 patients enrolled, 21 (60%) had vitamin D deficiency and received vitamin D therapy. In 2 patients, vitamin D levels did not rise to sufficient levels with supplementation and these 2 patients were excluded from analysis. The remaining 19 patients showed vitamin D levels increased from 13.2± 4.0 to 42.8 ± 9.6 ng/mL while IRLSS improved from 24.9 ± 5.1 to 21.1 ± 2.9 points (p<0.001). Selected subscores of the IRLSS were also improved including symptom severity (p<0.001), impact on sleep (p<0.001), symptom measures (p =0.002), and disease impact measures (p<0.001). There were trends toward improvement in subscores of frequency (p =0.11) and mood (p =0.051).

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that vitamin D levels should be evaluated in patients with RLS and if vitamin D deficiency is revealed, consideration should be given to replacement therapy.u.