The evolution of diagnostic rules and Standards for Sleep-Related Movement Disorders (SRMD)

A historical analysis of the scientific community's characterization of sleep related movement disorders lends insight into the understanding of how the sleep movement disorders research field has evolved through the years. We use extensively the 1979 Diagnostic Classification of Sleep and Arousal Disorders, the 1990, 2005 and 2014 International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) manual, the 2020 American Academy of Sleep Medicine polysomnographic scoring manual, and any relevant articles to each particular disorder in order to catalog the historical evolution of the diagnostic rules and criteria of the major simple sleep-related movement disorders. A 1997 interim version of the 1990 ICSD-1 is not reviewed here as the criteria for the sleep-related movement disorders was not changed from the 1990 version. The more complex sleep disorders or parasomnias such as the REM Sleep Behavior Disorder or Disorders of Partial Arousal are not included in this review. For Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) specifically we also reviewed the International RLS study group publications from 2003 to 2014, and for Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS) specifically we also reviewed the World Association of Sleep Medicine publications from 2006 to 2016.