Those of you interested in how brain function is significant for virtually all aspects of health will like this study just published in the medical journal Sleep. It’s also another example of the importance of healthy dopamine signalling. The investigators note that “Dopaminergic hypofunction in the central nervous system may contribute to restless legs syndrome (RLS) and erectile dysfunction (ED). We therefore examined whether men with RLS have higher prevalences of ED.” After analyzing the data on a group of 23,119 men they conclude: “Men with RLS had a higher likelihood of concurrent ED, and the magnitude of the observed association was increased with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms. These results suggest that ED and RLS share common determinants.” The take home message here is that dopamine function can play a role in both Restless Leg Syndrome and Erectile Dysfunction. This can be helped with a functional medicine approach to restoring dopamine regulation.

Coincidentally, a related paper has also just been published in the journal Sleep Medicine examining the role of dopaminergic dysfunction and treatment in Restless Leg Syndrome. Here the authors conclude their observations by stating: “Since dopaminergic treatment can reverse delayed facilitation in RLS, we hypothesized that cortical plasticity related to dopaminergic systems may play a crucial role in RLS pathophysiology.”