Multi-Omic Profiling in Restless Legs Syndrome
2023 Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators
Katie Cederberg, PhD
Stanford University
Key Project Outcome
This project represents the largest evaluation of blood-based protein markers in people with RLS compared to people without RLS. Our results identified one protein that was significantly higher in people with RLS that may help explain the relationship between central and peripheral iron status as well as identify pathways for the reported higher risk of hypertension and diabetes in RLS. The identified protein may also be related to the reported higher prevalence of RLS in adults with kidney disease and those undergoing hemodialysis. We also identified several proteins that were seemingly associated with RLS that may improve the ability to diagnose RLS in addition to genetic predisposition and other personal factors, like age and sex. Our results highlight the potential of blood-based proteins and suggest that expanding these analyses to include more people will likely identify more proteins that could improve diagnosis and treatment for individuals with RLS. Such findings represent the first step in utilizing omics-based approaches to improve diagnosis and personalized treatments for RLS and expands our understanding of how genetic variants influence the abundance of protein networks associated with RLS and contribute to the elucidation of causal mechanisms underlying RLS.