Montreal, May 10, 2010 – The Restless Legs Syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes an uncontrollable urge to move his legs and seems to be a hereditary disease affecting more female members of families affected could also be caused by a combination of factors genetic and environmental. According to the results of a major study published in Archives of Neurology, the children of people with this syndrome are three times more likely to develop this disease…

This research, which builds on previous research, suggests that this disease is a tropism family. The investigation is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Montreal, CHU Sainte-Justine, Centre de Recherche du CHUM, Hospital of the Sacred Heart in Montreal, the Montreal Heart Institute, University Institute of Mental Health and Douglas McGill.

CHU Sainte-Justine and Scientific Research Center of CHUM.

The research team studied 671 individuals who were diagnosed with restless legs syndrome in Quebec: 192 have been evaluated in a center specializing in the study of sleep and the 479 other members of their families participated in diagnostic interviews. The study revealed that 77% of cases with a member of the family had been diagnosed with restless legs syndrome also had this disorder. By the age of 60, children of people with this syndrome were 3.6 times more likely to exhibit symptoms of the disease and 1.8 times more likely to develop around the age of 40 years.