Session Information
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2018
Session Title: Restless Legs Syndrome and Other Sleep Disorders
Session Time: 1:45pm-3:15pm
Location: Hall 3FG
Objective: To assess the ability to inhibit eye movements towards a target by analysing antisaccades using an eye tracker.
Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurological disease, affecting up to 10% of the population. Dopaminergic drugs, especially dopamine agonists, are commonly used to alleviate symptoms. However, these drugs may induce unwanted side effects such as augmentation or impulse control disorders in a subgroup of patients.
Methods: In total, we included 17 patients with idiopathic RLS diagnosed according to the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group criteria from our out-patient clinic. Eleven patients had a history of augmentation, 6 patients had neither augmentation nor impulse control disorders. Data acquisition was done by using a Tobii eye tracking system and the Pro Lab software.
Results: We first examined the mean reaction time using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and a t-test for independent samples. There was no difference in mean reaction time for patients with augmentation (282.75 ms, SD=88.07) and for patients without augmentation (298.24 ms, SD=58.03), (p=0.706). Secondly, we assessed error rates in the antisaccade task. The error rate in patients with augmentation was 40.9% (SD=28.3) compared to 10.5% (SD=11.5) in patients without augmentation, showing a significant group difference (p=0.007).
Conclusions: These preliminary data from an ongoing study suggest that patients with augmentation have difficulties suppressing overt attention towards the target. These frequent antisaccade errors in the augmentation group are typical of response initiation impulsivity. Furthermore, these interim results are consistent with previous reports linking augmentation and enhanced impulsivity and we are continuing to enrol patients in this study to solidify our data in a larger sample.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
P. Ellmerer, B. Heim, M. Ritter, A. Stefani, E. Brandauer, E. Holzknecht, K. Seppi, B. Högl, W. Poewe, A. Djamshidian. Eye tracking in patients with restless legs syndrome with and without augmentation – interim results of an ongoing study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2018; 33 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/eye-tracking-in-patients-with-restless-legs-syndrome-with-and-without-augmentation-interim-results-of-an-ongoing-study/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2018 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/eye-tracking-in-patients-with-restless-legs-syndrome-with-and-without-augmentation-interim-results-of-an-ongoing-study/