Researchers Unearth Links Among Insomnia, Brain Chemistry and Restless Leg Syndrome

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found unusually high levels of glutamate – an arousal-related neurotransmitter – in individuals with restless leg syndrome. RLS, as it is known, is a condition in which sufferers have an unyielding urge to move their legs, even as they sleep.

“We may have solved the mystery of why getting rid of patients’ urge to move their legs doesn’t improve their sleep,” a researcher says. “We may have been looking at the wrong thing all along, or we may find that both dopamine and glutamate pathways play a role in RLS.” Click here to read the full story.