Restless Legs Syndrome - RLS and Genetics

What runs in the family - and what does not.

"My mother had it too." That sentence is spoken in almost every consultation, and the same questions always follow. Did I inherit this? Will I pass it on? Can it be tested for? And if it is in the genes, is there anything to be done at all?

This volume answers them in turn. It explains why restless legs syndrome is clearly heritable and still not an inherited disease, why 164 risk loci are now known but no disease gene has been identified, and why no useful genetic test exists - with the clear answer that many people search for in vain.

What is inherited is the predisposition, not the course. What becomes of it in an individual life is decided by iron, by circumstances and by coexisting conditions. That is why this volume does not end with genetics but with what you can genuinely pass on to your family.

WHAT IS IN THE BOOK

- What heritability means - and what it emphatically does not

- Early and late onset: two conditions in one?

- A short course in genetics, readable without prior knowledge

- MEIS1, BTBD9, PTPRD and the other principal suspects

- Why the genes point mainly to nerve development, and what that leaves open about dopamine

- The genetic test: the clear answer to a common question

- What you can tell your children and siblings

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

For patients with the condition running in the family, for parents worried about their children, and for anyone considering a commercial genetic test who wants to know what it can achieve in restless legs syndrome.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Volume 4 of 52 in the book series on restless legs syndrome, part "Foundations". Every volume can be read on its own. The statements in this volume rest on 143 professional sources, each one listed individually in the reference section.