Arthur Scott Walters

Arthur Scott Walters
Known forResearch on restless legs syndrome and sleep-related movement disorders
AwardsAmerican Academy of Neurology Sleep Science Award (2010)Seton Hall University "Researcher of the Year in Medicine" (2005)Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation's Ekbom Award (1998)
Scientific career
FieldsNeurology, Sleep medicine
InstitutionsVanderbilt University School of Medicine

Arthur Scott Walters is an American neurologist, a professor of neurology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.[1]

Research

Walters' research interests have focused on the nexus where sleep disorders and movement disorders meet.[2] He is co-editor of the first book on sleep-related movement disorders in 2003 and is an author on over 200 research publications.[2]

Under his leadership as first chair of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG), the group established universal criteria for the diagnosis of RLS[3] whose core features serve as those of its current definition as well.[4] Under his leadership, the group also developed and validated an RLS severity rating scale[5] which has served as the major outcome measure for the severity of RLS in most academic and pharmaceutical company studies of RLS.[6] His other individual contributions with coauthors include writing the first full case reports of Pediatric RLS[7] and exploring the relationship between RLS and ADHD[8] as well as between RLS and Growing Pains.[9] In addition, he has explored the relationship between RLS/PLMS and hypertension, heart disease and stroke[10][11] the role of the endogenous opiate system in the pathogenesis of RLS[12] and the role of inflammation and autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of RLS.[13] He and co-investigators also performed some of the first circadian rhythm studies in RLS showing that the worsening at night and worsening at rest criteria for RLS were separate but interdependent phenomena.[14]

Professional activities

Walters was the first chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, a nationwide patient support group for patients with restless legs syndrome and their families and he continues to play a role on the board.[15] He was also first chairman of the executive committee and continuing activist in the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group, which is composed of over 130 physicians and scientists dedicated to research on restless legs syndrome and the allied condition periodic limb movements in sleep.[2] He headed the American Academy of Sleep Medicine committee for the development of clinical criteria for the diagnosis of sleep related movement disorders International Classification of Sleep Disorders published in 2005 and their committee for the development of the sleep study scoring criteria for the sleep related movement disorders published in 2007.[2] He moved to Vanderbilt University and was given a distinguished faculty medical license from the state of Tennessee in 2008.[16]

Awards and honors

In 1998, Walters was the first recipient of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation's Ekbom Award.[15] In 2005, he was named "Researcher of the Year in Medicine" at Seton Hall University.[17] In 2010, he was given the American Academy of Neurology Sleep Science Award for excellence in sleep research.[18]

Edited volumes - books

  • Walters AS, ed Sleep Thief: The Restless Legs Syndrome. Orange Park, Fla. Galaxy Books, Inc., pp. 1–316, 1996
  • Chokroverty, Sudhansu; Hening, Wayne A.; Walters, Arthur S. (2003). Sleep and Movement Disorders. Philadelphia: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-7506-7200-9.
  • Medicine, American Academy of Sleep (January 1, 2005). The International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Westchester, Ill: Amer Academy of Sleep Medicine. ISBN 978-0-9657220-2-5.
  • Walters AS, Editor for the Movement Disorders Section. The AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events: Rules, Terminology and Technical Specifications. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Westchester, Ill, pp. 1–57, 2007.
  • Walters A. Editor for the Movement Disorders Section and the Miscellaneous Section (Appendix B). The International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Diagnostic and Coding Manual. Third Edition. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Westchester, Ill., 2014.
  • Chokroverty, Sudhansu; Allen, Richard P.; Walters, Arthur S.; Montagna, Pasquale (August 15, 2013). Sleep and Movement Disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-979516-1.

Selected publications

References

  1. ^"Vanderbilt Department of Neurology - Arthur Walters, M.D."www.mc.vanderbilt.edu. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  2. ^ abcdSarah Plumrige (March 5, 2010). "Neurology academy honors Walters with sleep science award". Reporter. Vanderbilt University. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  3. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Aldrich, Michael S.; Allen, Richard; Ancoli-Israel, Sonia; Buchholz, David; Chokroverty, Sudhansu; Coccagna, Giorgio; Earley, Christopher; Ehrenberg, Bruce; Feest, T. G.; Hening, Wayne; Kavey, Neil; Lavigne, Gilles; Lipinski, Joseph; Lugaresi, Elio (1995). "Toward a better definition of the restless legs syndrome". Movement Disorders. 10 (5): 634–642. doi:10.1002/mds.870100517. ISSN 0885-3185. PMID 8552117.
  4. ^Allen, Richard P.; Picchietti, Daniel L.; Garcia-Borreguero, Diego; Ondo, William G.; Walters, Arthur S.; Winkelman, John W.; Zucconi, Marco; Ferri, Raffaele; Trenkwalder, Claudia; Lee, Hochang B. (2014). "Restless legs syndrome/Willis–Ekbom disease diagnostic criteria: updated International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) consensus criteria – history, rationale, description, and significance". Sleep Medicine. 15 (8): 860–873. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2014.03.025. PMID 25023924.
  5. ^Walters, Arthur S.; LeBrocq, Cheryl; Dhar, Anjana; Hening, Wayne; Rosen, Ray; Allen, Richard P.; Trenkwalder, Claudia; International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (2003). "Validation of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group rating scale for restless legs syndrome". Sleep Medicine. 4 (2): 121–132. doi:10.1016/s1389-9457(02)00258-7. hdl:11380/1206095. ISSN 1389-9457. PMID 14592342.
  6. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Frauscher, Birgit; Allen, Richard; Benes, Heike; Chaudhuri, K. Ray; Garcia-Borreguero, Diego; Lee, Hochang B.; Picchietti, Daniel L.; Trenkwalder, Claudia; Martinez-Martin, Pablo; Schrag, Anette; Stebbins, Glenn (2014). "Review of Severity Rating Scales for Restless Legs Syndrome: Critique and Recommendations". Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 1 (4): 317–324. doi:10.1002/mdc3.12088. ISSN 2330-1619. PMC 6183260. PMID 30363953.
  7. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Picchietti, Daniel L.; Ehrenberg, Bruce L.; Wagner, Mary L. (1994). "Restless legs syndrome in childhood and adolescence". Pediatric Neurology. 11 (3): 241–245. doi:10.1016/0887-8994(94)90110-4. PMID 7880339.
  8. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Silvestri, Rosalia; Zucconi, Marco; Chandrashekariah, Ranju; Konofal, Eric (December 15, 2008). "Review of the possible relationship and hypothetical links between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the simple sleep related movement disorders, parasomnias, hypersomnias, and circadian rhythm disorders". Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 4 (6): 591–600. doi:10.5664/jcsm.27356. ISSN 1550-9389. PMC 2603539. PMID 19110891.
  9. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Gabelia, David; Frauscher, Birgit (2013). "Restless legs syndrome (Willis–Ekbom disease) and growing pains: are they the same thing? A side-by-side comparison of the diagnostic criteria for both and recommendations for future research". Sleep Medicine. 14 (12): 1247–1252. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2013.07.013. PMID 24157095.
  10. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Rye, David B. (2009). "Review of the Relationship of Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep to Hypertension, Heart Disease, and Stroke". Sleep. 32 (5): 589–597. doi:10.1093/sleep/32.5.589. ISSN 0161-8105. PMC 2675893. PMID 19480225.
  11. ^Farhani, Nahal; Costa, Yakdehikandage S.; Rozik, Marina; Spruyt, Karen; Walters, Arthur S.; Boulos, Mark I. (November 26, 2025). "Restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements of sleep — the relationship with stroke and other cerebrovascular disease". Nature Reviews Neurology. doi:10.1038/s41582-025-01161-z. ISSN 1759-4758. PMID 41298862.
  12. ^Walters, Arthur S; Li, Yuqing; Koo, Brian B; Ondo, William G; Weinstock, Leonard B; Champion, David; Afrin, Lawrence B; Karroum, Elias G; Bagai, Kanika; Spruyt, Karen (January 4, 2024). "Review of the role of the endogenous opioid and melanocortin systems in the restless legs syndrome". Brain. 147 (1): 26–38. doi:10.1093/brain/awad283. ISSN 0006-8950. PMC 10796165. PMID 37633259.
  13. ^Weinstock, Leonard B.; Walters, Arthur S.; Paueksakon, Paisit (2012). "Restless legs syndrome – Theoretical roles of inflammatory and immune mechanisms". Sleep Medicine Reviews. 16 (4): 341–354. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2011.09.003. PMID 22258033.
  14. ^Walters, Arthur S.; Zee, Phyllis C. (2023). "Why the worsening at rest and worsening at night criteria for Restless Legs Syndrome are listed separately: review of the circadian literature on RLS and suggestions for future directions". Frontiers in Neurology. 14 1153273. doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1153273. ISSN 1664-2295. PMC 10172647. PMID 37181571.
  15. ^ abEkbom Award Presented to Dr. WaltersArchived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation, August 1998, accessed January 17, 2012.
  16. ^"Tennessee Department of Health". February 5, 2011. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  17. ^Faculty Research Day 2005: Researcher of the Year, Seton Hall Office of Grants and Research Services, 2005, accessed January 17, 2012.
  18. ^AAN Announces 2010 Award Winners in Neurologic Research, American Academy of Neurology, March 30, 2010, accessed January 17, 2012.
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