Syndrome Isn’t A Fake
By Mark Steer
If there’s something that medical practitioners and psychologists love, it’s a new syndrome.In recent times we’ve seen the emergence of Performance Addiction Syndrome, Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome and POEMS, a syndrome with such a long name it gets its own daft acronym – the full title is Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, Monoclonal protein, and Skin changes syndrome.
But are these syndromes real conditions or are they simply spawned from the overactive imaginations of quacks and shrinks? We can’t be certain in all cases, but one strange syndrome has just received the all clear.
An international team of researchers has identified the first gene associated with Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), a common sleep disorder affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. The discovery provides strong evidence that RLS is a genuine syndrome, a fact which has recently been the subject of some debate."We now have concrete evidence that RLS is an authentic disorder with recognizable features and underlying biological basis," says David Rye, one of the study's lead authors.
Restless legs syndrome is a condition that produces an intense, often irresistible urge to move the legs and is a major cause of insomnia and sleep disruption. RLS affects approximately 10 percent of the U.S. population and about one percent of school-aged children.
Sufferers may have to wait a while for a cure though. "Additional work will be required to translate this knowledge into a plausible mechanism and, in turn, more rational and better treatments." Dr. Rye continues, "Future advances will depend upon additional monies which to this point have come solely from private foundations and industry."
Does that last statement have Mafioso undertones, or is it just me? If you want protection from your syndromes – you’re going to have to pay.
Join our MySpace or Facebook groups to talk science or just enjoy more by following the links below:
- Satire - Cure for ADHD found
- Review - The man who mistook his wife for a hat
- Weird - Gloves and socks syndrome
Image: Greg Olsen
Share this
