The present invention relates to an oligo- or polynucleotide which can be used in the diagnosis and therapy of restless legs syndrome (RLS). Furthermore, the invention relates to methods of diagnosing a predisposition for or RLS and a method for selecting a therapy to prevent and treat RLS. Moreover, a method for determining the dose of a drug used for treating a patient suffering from RLS and a method to test the efficacy of a drug used for treating RLS in treating other dopaminergic diseases, sleep disorders or spinocerebellar ataxias as well as the use of a drug effective in treating RLS for testing the efficacy of said drug in treating other dopaminergic diseases, sleep disorders or spinocerebellar ataxias. The invention also envisages methods of identifying an inhibitor, pro-drug or drug capable of modulating the activity of a peptide or protein of the invention, a diagnostic kit for detection of a single nucleotide polymorphism and gene therapies on the basis of gene variants detected with the present invention.
USE OF GENE VARIANTS OF THE HUMAN MEIS1, BTBD9, MAP2K5, LBXCOR1, PTPRD OR A2BP1 GENE FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME (RLS)