• DOI:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1965.tb00617.x
• Corpus ID: 28096190

SPONTANEOUS LEG CRAMPS AND “RESTLESS LEGS” DUE TO DIABETOGENIC HYPERINSULINISM: OBSERVATIONS ON 131 PATIENTS *

@article{Roberts1965SPONTANEOUSLC,
  title={SPONTANEOUS LEG CRAMPS AND “RESTLESS LEGS” DUE TO DIABETOGENIC HYPERINSULINISM: OBSERVATIONS ON 131 PATIENTS *},
  author={H. J. Roberts},
  journal={Journal of the American Geriatrics Society},
  year={1965},
  volume={13}
}

• H. J. Roberts
• Published 1 July 1965
• Medicine
• Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

The cause and rational treatment of spontaneous leg cramps (S.L.C.) and the “restless legs” phenomenon (R.L.) remain controversial. Although many neurologic, vascular, vasomotor and neurovascular etiologies have been suggested, they remain unconvincing as primary underlying causes in the face of clinical experience. An incomplete listing of such disorders includes peripheral venous stasis, prolonged dependency of the limbs by sitting or standing, previous thrombophlebitis, engorgement of the venous system within the spinal canal, vitamin deficiency, anemia, poliomyelitis, nonspecific prostatitis, testosterone deficiency, pregnancy, excessive salt intake, hysteria, the wearing of improper shoes, reticuloendothelial dysfunction, and a functional disturbance involving the suprasegmental reticular system and segmental “gamma system” (3-7). On the basis of consistent clinical, investigational and therapeutic observations on 131 patients afflicted with S.L.C., R.L., or both, who were clearly subject to diabetogenic (“functional”) hyperinsulinism (D.H.), it is believed that these features are usually symptomatic manifestations of recurrent hypoglycemia and its sequelae. The frequency with which S.L.C. and R.L. occur in the same individual and respond to an antihypoglycemia regimen further justifies their being considered together. Indeed, Thomas Willis (8) included both features in his classic description: