Association between Antipsychotics-Induced Restless Legs Syndrome and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Polymorphism

Objective: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has been reported to be more prevalent in schizophrenic patients who take antipsychotics. The cause of RLS is unknown but associated with dopaminergic deficiency. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the conversion of L-tyrosine to DOPA. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the TH gene Val81Met polymorphism is associated with antipsychotic-induced RLS.

Methods: One hundred ninety Korean schizophrenic patients were evaluated by the diagnostic criteria of the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG). The genotyping was performed by PCR-based methods.

Results: Of the one hundred ninety schizophrenic patients, 44 (23.2%) were found to have RLS. Although there were no significant associations between TH genotypes or allele frequencies and RLS, when separate analyses were performed by sex (male or female), we detected significant differences in the frequencies of the genotype (chi(2)=6.15, p=0.046) and allele (chi(2)=4.67, p=0.031) of the TH gene Val81Met polymorphism between those with and without RLS in the female patients.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that the TH gene Val81Met SNP might be associated with antipsychotic-induced RLS in female schizophrenic patients.