In Germany alone 8 million patients are affected by RLS, which makes it one of the most common neurological diseases.
The patients suffer from an urge to move and paresthesia in the legs in the evening and during the night, when they come to rest, which can only be relieved by moving or walking around. The consequence may be severe sleeping disorders, chronic sleep loss and - associated with it - daytime fatigue. In severe cases the disease may lead to depression and social isolation. The frequency of RLS increases with age: up to ten per cent of over 65 year olds are affected, albeit in very different forms. Children can, however, also contract the disease.
The cause of RLS has so far been completely unknown. More than half of all RLS patients report about other family members who are also affected, so that a genetic component was assumed to be involved in the development of the disease at an early stage. Various groups of scientists have been looking for the genes which might play a role in RLS for years.