Medline ® Abstracts for References 59-61

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of nocturnal eating (NE) and sleep related eating disorder (SRED) in restless legs syndrome (RLS) versus psychophysiological insomnia (INS), and the relationship of these conditions with dopaminergic and sedative-hypnotic medications.

DESIGN: Prospective case series.

SETTING: Sleep disorders center.

PATIENTS: Newly diagnosed RLS or INS.

INTERVENTION: RLS or INS pharmacotherapy with systematic follow up interview for NE/SRED.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Patients presenting with RLS (n = 88) or INS (n = 42) were queried for the presence of NE and SRED. RLS patients described nocturnal eating (61%) and SRED (36%) more frequently than INS patients (12% and 0%; both p<0.0001). These findings were not due to arousal frequency, as INS patients were more likely to have prolonged nightly awakenings (93%) than RLS patients (64%; p = 0.003). Among patients on sedative-hypnotics, amnestic SRED and sleepwalking were more common in the setting of RLS (80%) than INS (8%; p<0.0001). Further, NE and SRED in RLS were not secondary to dopaminergic therapy, as RLS patients demonstrated a substantial drop (68% to 34%; p = 0.0026) in the frequency of NE after dopamine agents were initiated, and there were no cases of dopaminergic agents inducing novel NE or SRED.

CONCLUSION: NE is common in RLS and not due to frequent nocturnal awakenings or dopaminergic agents. Amnestic SRED occurs predominantly in the setting of RLS mistreatment with sedating agents. In light of previous reports, these findings suggest that nocturnal eating is a non-motor manifestation of RLS with several clinical implications discussed here.

A patient with incapacitating restless-leg syndrome had suffered from repetitive confusional states exclusively after use of short-acting benzodiazepines. Complete removal of symptoms was achieved using levodopa. An association between many reported adverse reactions to triazolam and the common syndrome of restless legs or nocturnal myoclonus is suggested.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the association of amnestic nocturnal eating behavior with use of zolpidem for insomnia.

BACKGROUND: Sleep-related eating disorder is increasingly recognized in relationship to other diagnosable sleep disorders. Many of these disorders, like restless legs syndrome (RLS), give rise to complaints of insomnia. Zolpidem is the most commonly prescribed drug for insomnia complaints, and although it has sometimes been associated with side effects of transient amnesia and sleep walking, an association with sleep-related eating has not been previously emphasized.

METHODS: Consecutive case series of five patients who were using zolpidem and evaluated with nocturnal eating behaviors.

RESULTS: We evaluated five patients over 11 months with problematic amnestic nocturnal eating associated with zolpidem used for complaints of insomnia. All five patients had RLS, three had obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, two had sleep walking, and one had psychophysiologic insomnia. With discontinuation of zolpidem and effective treatmentof their sleep disorders, nocturnal eating resolved.

CONCLUSIONS: Zolpidem, at least in patients with underlying sleep disorders that cause frequent arousals, may cause or augment sleep-related eating behavior. This report demonstrates the importance of arriving at a specific diagnosis for insomnia complaints, and alerts the sleep practitioner to this unusual side effect of zolpidem.