Restless head syndrome: A retrospective study

Table 1 Details of patients with restless head syndrome

Age/sex	Presenting or chief complain	Duration of illness	Head-related symptoms			Symptoms/sensations of RLS in legs	Arms-back involvement	Insomnia	Lab abnormalities	Treatment
			Symptoms	Severe in night	Relief by massage					Dopaminergic drugs	Response
56; F	Headache	15 mo	Tight feeling, stretching	Yes	Yes	Burning, stretching feeling	Arms	Yes	Low ferritin level	Pramipexole 0.250 mg OD	Marked response in 5-6 d
45; M	Dizziness	3 years	Worms moving, crawling	Yes	Yes	Pain, crawling	Arms, back	Yes		Ropinirole 0.50 mg OD	Complete response in 2 wk
34; F	Headache	2-3 years	Tight feeling, stretching	Yes	Yes	Tight feeling, stretching		Yes		Pramipexole 0.125 mg OD	Marked response in 2 wk
52; F	Leg pain	5-6 years	Tight feeling, tearing	Yes	Yes	Tearing	Arms, Back	Yes		Ropinirole 0.50 mg OD	Marked response in 10 d
45; M	Dizziness	2 years	Creeping, floating	Yes	Yes	Throbbing, crawling	Arms	Yes		Pramipexole 0.250 mg OD	Marked response in 7-8 d
34; F	Headache	2-3 years	Tight feeling	Yes	Yes	Creeping, pain		Yes		Ropinirole 0.25 mg OD	Complete response in 2 wk
34; F	Headache, leg pain	6-7 mo	Tight feeling, stretching	Yes	Yes	Pain, stretching, burning	Arms	Yes	Low serum iron	Levodopa/carbidopa (100/10 mg)	Marked response in 10 d
25; M	Headache, backache	5-6 mo	Throbbing, tight feeling	Yes	Yes	Pain, burning Sensation	Arms, back	Yes	low serum iron	Pramipexole 0.250 mg OD	Marked response in 2 wk
45; F	Headache, backache	6 mo	Throbbing, stretching	Yes	Yes	Burning, stretching		Yes		Ropinirole 0.50 mg OD	Marked response in 1-2 wk
46; M	Leg pain, headache	4-5 years	Stretching sensation, tight feeling	Yes	Yes	Pain, stretching, throbbing	Arms, back	Yes	low serum iron	levodopa/carbidopa (100/10 mg)	Marked response in 2 wk
56; M	Headache, dizziness	10 mo	Jittery, twitching, numbness	Yes	Yes	Tight feeling, pain, itchy sensation	Arms	Yes		Levodopa/carbidopa (100/10 mg)	Complete response in 1-2 wk
32; F	Headache	4-5 years	Tight feeling, stretching	Yes	Yes	Tearing, ants crawling	Arms, back			Levodopa/carbidopa (100/10 mg)	Marked response in 5-6 d
46; M	Headache, dizziness	2-3 years	Creeping, stretching	Yes	Yes	Pulling, stretching	Arms, back	Yes	Low vitamin D	Pramipexole 0.250 mg OD	Marked response in 10 d
54; F	Headache	6-7 years	Tight feeling, stretching	Yes	Yes	Creeping, pain		Yes		Pramipexole 0.250 mg OD	Complete response in 2 wk

F: Female; M: Male; OD: Once daily; RLS: Restless legs syndrome.

Table 2 Epidemiological profiles and clinical features of 17 patients with restless head syndrome

Parameter		N (17) (%)
Age (years) (mean ± SD)		41.6 (± 9.6)
Sex (Male:Female)		9:8 (1.2:1)
Duration of illness (mo)		53.9 ± 26.2
Presenting features or chief complaints
	Headache	12 (70.5)
	Dizziness	5 (29.4)
	Leg pain	3 (17.3)
	Backache	2 (11.8)
	Generalized body pain	2 (11.8)
Clinical features
	Lower legs discomforts	17 (100)
	Headache	14 (82.3)
	Arms discomforts	12 (70.5)
	Backache	6 (35.2)
	Dizziness	5 (29.4)
	Generalized body pain	3 (17.3)
	Insomnia	16 (88.2)
	Met international restless legs syndrome study group criteria	17 (100)
Treatment (dopaminergic agents)
	Pramipexole 0.125 to 0.250 mg daily	8 (47.1)
	Levodopa/carbidopa (100/10 mg)	5 (29.4)
	Ropinirole 0.50 mg daily	4 (23.5)