Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation Blog

February 26, 2021

Yuqing Li, PhD, 2015 RLS Foundation Grant Recipient, Awarded NIH Funding

The National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council (NANDSC), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a grant to Yuqing Li, PhD, a professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at the University of Florida. Dr. Li and his team will further investigate the genetic mechanisms that are involved in the development of restless legs syndrome.

Dr. Li will build on his previous research concerning the role of the MEIS1 gene in RLS, which was made possible with an RLS Foundation grant he received in 2015. Li’s work involved exploration of an animal model in which he and his team performed a detailed analysis of MEIS1 mutant mice to determine whether they showed RLS symptoms. They also examined the brain’s dopamine system to identify areas affected by the MEIS1 mutation.

“I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the Foundation grant in 2015,” said Li, who published three papers on MEIS1. “The funding allowed us to collect the necessary preliminary data to apply for this NIH grant.”

Li says the Foundation grant allowed him to identify changes in the dopamine and cholinergic systems in the brains of the mutant animals, which suggests that they could be important in causing RLS.

“With the NIH grant award, we are going to develop animal models with MEIS1 altered only in dopaminergic or cholinergic systems,” said Li. “This will allow us to determine the relative importance of the two systems in causing the RLS. We may find out that both systems are important, or one is crucial and leads to the changes in the other. This kind of knowledge will allow us to have a better understanding of how RLS can develop in patients and develop better-targeted therapies for RLS patients.”

The support of the Foundation members has led to the funding of 48 grants totaling over $1.8 million in funding. “The RLS Foundation is excited by the news of this NIH award to Dr. Li. This study will help to expand our knowledge and understanding of the disease leading to development of targeted therapies and, hopefully, a cure,” said Dzienkowski, RLS Foundation executive director. To support the RLS Foundation Research Grant Program go to www.rls.org/donate.