Enzyme Implicated in Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by pain in the lower limbs and the frequent urge to move, which leads to sleep disturbance. Juliane Winkelmann and colleagues show that a variant in the gene PTPRD is associated with increased risk of the disorder in several populations of affected individuals. PTPRD encodes one of a family of enzymes called protein tyrosine phosphatases, and this particular phosphatase has been shown in mice to function in the development of neurons that directly or indirectly control movement.

Author contact:

Juliane Winkelmann (Max Plancke Institute of Human Genetics, Munich, Germany)
E-mail: winkelmann@lrz.tu-muenchen.de

Abstract available online.

(C) Nature Genetics press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza