Consensus roadmap on periodic leg movements during sleep: outcomes of the international PLMS taskforce

Periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS) are a frequently observed motor phenomenon in polysomnography, yet their biological meaning and clinical relevance are debated. Further, how these should be assessed and tabulated for optimal evaluation is uncertain. To address these gaps, an international, multidisciplinary taskforce convened a series of online meetings followed by an in person taskforce workshop held in Troina, Italy, on November 14-15, 2025, where agreement was reached through iterative discussion (qualitative; no Delphi or predefined voting thresholds). This taskforce roadmap summarizes the taskforce conclusions across five priority domains: (1) clinical significance and impact, (2) measurement and characterization, (3) treatment, (4) basic and translational research, and (5) PLMS across the life span and epidemiology. For each domain, we delineate where the field currently stands, identify critical gaps in knowledge, and propose concrete strategies, including key milestones, study designs, and infrastructure needs, to advance the field in a coordinated and standardized manner. A central unifying theme is that PLMS should no longer be viewed solely as a countable polysomnographic index, but rather as a spectrum of sleep-related motor activity with heterogeneous neurophysiological substrates and variable clinical impact. Achieving progress will require harmonized scoring standards, validated automated and wearable technologies, large longitudinal and outcome-oriented studies, and sustained international collaboration. This roadmap provides a framework to guide research, clinical innovation, and future guideline development, but it is not a clinical practice guideline or standards statement.