Restless Legs Syndrome Link To Impotence

almost 80 percent more prevalent in men suffering from Restless Legs Syndrome

A group of researchers from the Harvard Medical School have discovered that men who suffer from a rare illness which causes them to be unable to keep their legs still when they are asleep are far more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. The illness which is called Restless Legs Syndrome or RLS is thought to be a brain problem which leads to problems in getting good quality sleep.

The researchers said that erectile dysfunction was almost 80 percent more prevalent in men suffering from Restless Legs Syndrome than it was normally. They also said that the men who experienced Restless Legs Syndrome the worst were the most likely to have the severe cases of erectile dysfunction. This study is important because it shows that there is possibly a link between erectile dysfunction, Restless Legs Syndrome and unusually low levels of the brain signaling chemical dopamine.

Professor Xiang Gao from the Harvard School of Public Health noted that more research should be done to clearly identify the link between Restless Legs Syndrome and erection problems which could lead to treatments for both conditions. The research which was funded by the National Institutes of Health in the United States involved medical data being collected from over 23,000 men between the ages of 56 and 91. It was observed that around four percent of the men suffered from Restless Legs Syndrome and 41 percent suffered from erectile dysfunction.

The men who suffered from Restless Legs Syndrome between five and fourteen times monthly were sixteen percent more likely to have erectile dysfunction and the men who had episodes of erectile dysfunction over fifteen times monthly had a 78 percent higher chance of erection problems. The research was published in the medical journal Sleep.