Síndrome de piernas inquietas/Willis Ekbom desde la mirada del psiquiatra / Restless legs syndrome from the perspective of psychiatry

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) or Willis-Ekbom Disease is an under-diagnosed chronic and progressive primary sensory-motor disorder. It can lead to severe sleep disturbances, a usual cause of consultation. It is characterized by an urgent need to move the legs in resting situations, a cardinal symptom that is usually accompanied by an unpleasant sensation in legs. These symptoms appear or aggravate at the end of the day and in resting situations and are alleviated with movement. Based on these clinical characteristics, it has been defined as a quiescegenic focal akathisia. The diagnosis is essentially clinical. As a guide, there are five cardinal diagnostic criteria. The treatment consists of non-pharmacological measures and the use of medications such as dopamine agonists. Despite the treatment, the symptoms persist in 40% of patients. Psychiatrists should be aware of the syndrome since many drugs used by them such as antipsychotics, antidepressants and anxiolytics can worsen the symptoms. Moreover, the syndrome may be associated with depressive and anxiety diseases.

Síndrome das pernas inquietas com herança autossômica dominante piorada pelo uso de mirtazapina: relato de caso / Worsening of autosomal dominant restless legs syndrome after use of mirtazapine: case report

Relatamos o caso de uma paciente de 78 anos, com diagnóstico estabelecido de síndrome das pernas inquietas (SPI), de etiologia primária com herança autossômica dominante. A paciente apresentava quadro depressivo associado. Enfatiza-se a piora do quadro clínico da SPI após o uso de anti-depressivo com ação inibidora seletiva da recaptação de serotonina (mirtazapina), com atenuação dos sintomas após a retirada da droga, e a excelente resposta terapêutica com o uso de agonista dopaminérgico (pramipexol) em baixa dose