Grey matter alterations in restless legs syndrome: A coordinate-based meta-analysis.

Grey matter alterations in restless legs syndrome: A coordinate-based meta-analysis. J Sleep Res. 2021 Feb 08;:e13298 Authors: Sheng L, Zhao P, Ma H, Qi L, Yi Z, Shi Y, Zhong J, Shi H, Dai Z, Pan P Abstract Brain structural abnormalities in idiopathic restless legs syndrome have long been debated. Voxel-based morphometry is an objective structural magnetic resonance imaging technique to investigate regional grey matter volume or density differences between groups. In the last decade, voxel-based morphometry studies have exhibited inconsistent and conflicting findings regarding the presence and localization of brain grey matter alterations in restless legs syndrome. We therefore conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis to quantitatively examine whether there were consistent grey matter findings in restless legs syndrome using the latest algorithms, seed-based d mapping with permutation of subject images. We included 12 voxel-based morphometry studies (13 datasets, 375 patients and 385 healthy controls). Our coordinate-based meta-analysis did not identify evidence of consistent grey matter alterations in restless legs syndrome. Grey matter alterations via voxel-based morphometry analysis are not therefore recommended to be used as a reliable surrogate neuroimaging marker for restless legs syndrome. This lack of consistency may be attributed to differences in sample size, genetics, gender distribution and age at onset, clinical hetero...
Source: Journal of Sleep Research - Category: Sleep Medicine Authors: Tags: J Sleep Res Source Type: research