Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2025 May;25(3):e70049.
doi: 10.1111/psyg.70049.

Acute-Onset Disabling Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movements in a Context of Mesenteric Ischemia: Successful Management With Intravenous Iron Supplementation

Oswald Henri  1 , Chevrot Raïssa-Marie  1 , Zerbib Benjamin  1   2 , Bourgin Patrice  1   3 , Ruppert Elisabeth  1   3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Acute-Onset Disabling Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movements in a Context of Mesenteric Ischemia: Successful Management With Intravenous Iron Supplementation

Oswald Henri et al. Psychogeriatrics. 2025 May.

Abstract

An 87-year-old woman with a history of multiple cardiovascular conditions, diabetes mellitus, and chronic renal failure developed insomnia and restless leg syndrome (RLS) with periodic limb movements during hospitalization for superior mesenteric artery ischaemia, which was successfully treated by mechanical embolectomy. She was found to be anaemic, with a haemoglobin at 10.5 g/dL (reference range: 11.8 15 g/dL) and serum ferritin at 13μg/L (reference range: 30 400μg/L). Given the severity of her symptoms and iron deficiency, we opted against oral iron supplementation, as its absorption is slower and less efficient. Instead, we administered intravenous iron sucrose as a first-line treatment, resulting in a corrected ferritin level of 90μg/L. Her RLS symptoms regressed within two days after intravenous iron supplementation. This case highlights the importance of considering RLS in patients presenting with insomnia, as effective treatments are available to improve patient outcomes.

Keywords: Willis‑Ekbom disease; iron deficiency; periodic leg movements; periodic waking movements; restlessness.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. M. Manconi, D. Garcia‐Borreguero, B. Schormair, et al., “Restless Legs Syndrome,” Nature Reviews. Disease Primers 7, no. 1 (2021): 80.
    1. A. J. Rothdach, C. Trenkwalder, J. Haberstock, U. Keil, and K. Berger, “Prevalence and Risk Factors of RLS in an Elderly Population: The MEMO Study. Memory and Morbidity in Augsburg Elderly,” Neurology 54, no. 5 (2000): 1064–1068.
    1. C. Trenkwalder, R. Allen, B. Högl, et al., “Comorbidities, Treatment, and Pathophysiology in Restless Legs Syndrome,” Lancet Neurology 17, no. 11 (2018): 994–1005.
    1. E. Ruppert, A. Hacquard, L. Tatu, et al., “Stroke‐Related Restless Legs Syndrome: Clinical and Anatomo‐Functional Characterization of an Emerging Entity,” European Journal of Neurology 29, no. 4 (2022): 1011–1016.
    1. S. R. Pasricha, J. Tye‐Din, M. U. Muckenthaler, and D. W. Swinkels, “Iron Deficiency,” Lancet 397, no. 10270 (2021): 233–248.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources