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Restless arm syndrome: a rare disease?
  1. Ulrich Moser and
  2. Jasmin Schwab
  1. Bayerische Ärztekammer München, D-81677 München, Bavaria, Germany
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ulrich Moser; u-moser{at}t-online.de

Abstract

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disorder characterised by an irresistible urge to move the lower limbs, often accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the legs, typically occurring in the evening and at night and improving with movement. Restless arms syndrome (RAS) predominantly affects the arms, while the legs are rarely affected. RAS appears to be very rare, with very few cases described to date, but the diagnosis of RAS is probably made too infrequently, especially for milder and transient forms. The patient reported here even had severe symptoms for years that could have indicated RAS. He observed an immediate improvement in all RAS-related symptoms after administration of 100 mg L-dopa +25 mg benserazide, which continues to this day. Clinicians should always be alert for RLS-like symptoms in one or both arms that worsen at rest and improve with movement, thinking of possible RAS.

  • pain
  • movement disorders (other than parkinsons)
  • pain (neurology)
  • orthopaedics
  • sleep disorders

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Footnotes

  • Contributors UM: Treatment of the patient, conception, design, data collection, analysis, interpretation of the data and writing of the publication. JS: Cotreatment of the patient, critical revision of the publication, presentation of the case in a pain conference.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.