Dear Judith,
I am so glad you brought up this most troublesome and at times, most
nerve-racking
problem, sometimes worse than some PD syptoms themselves.
This is a major problem in my life...
And I thank you for this ueful information.
43 yrs. dx last december
thanks agian
your friend
Karen Bastian

judith richards wrote:

> I don't think this new news, however...
>
> Parkinson's drug eases ``restless leg syndrome''
>
> NEW YORK, Apr 06, 1999 (Reuters Health) -- The drug pramipexole, used to
> treat patients with Parkinson's disease, is also highly effective in
> treating restless leg syndrome (RLS), according to researchers.
>
> ``Pramipexole is the most potent therapeutic agent ever tested for
> RLS,'' write an international team of researchers led by Dr. Jacques
> Montplaisir of the Sleep Studies Center at the Hopital du Sacr-Coeur de
> Montreal in Quebec, Canada. Their findings were published in the journal
> Neurology.
>
> RLS is characterized by recurrent tingling, burning sensations in the
> lower limbs and an irresistible urge -- especially when at rest -- to
> move the legs. The syndrome can cause chronic sleep deprivation and
> resultant fatigue.
>
> Experts have recently linked the illness with reduced activity of the
> neurochemical dopamine within the brain. Reduced levels of dopamine in
> the brain causes another more serious neuromotor disorder -- Parkinson's
> disease.
>
> In their study, Montplaisir's team had 10 RLS patients receive
> pramipexole or (an inactive) placebo over two 4-week periods.
> Pramipexole, which mimics the effects of dopamine, has already proven
> effective in reducing the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
>
> The authors report that ``nine out of the 10 patients in this study
> reported a complete disappearance of RLS symptoms with pramipexole.''
> The tenth patient also reported ``a major improvement of symptoms,''
> according to the investigators.
>
> Most patients experienced mild and short-term (1 week) gastrointestinal
> side effects related to use of the drug, including nausea and vomiting.
>
> Based on their findings, the researchers conclude that pramipexole
> therapy represents a powerful new method of controlling RLS symptoms.
>
> In a related study in the same issue of Neurology, German researchers
> tested the effectiveness of 4 weeks of another dopamine-related drug,
> pergolide, in a group of 30 RLS patients. They report that the drug
> appears to be ``a well-tolerated and effective treatment of (restless
> leg) symptoms and sleep disturbances in patients with primary
> RLS.''
>
> In their commentary on the findings of both studies, Dr. Sudhansu
> Chokroverty of Saint Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center in New York
> City, and Dr. Joseph Jankovic of the Baylor College of Medicine in
> Houston, Texas, note that RLS too often goes undetected and untreated.
>
> ``Persons with RLS, even when their symptoms are quite troublesome or
> disabling, often do not seek medical attention,'' they point out, ``or
> the symptoms are wrongly attributed by physicians to nervousness,
> insomnia, stress'' or other conditions.
>
> The two experts believe that both patients and physicians need to
> recognize RLS as a distinct physical disorder. They believe that more
> studies with larger numbers of participants are also needed ``to find
> the best treatments for these patients.''
>
> SOURCE: Neurology 1999;52:907-910, 938-943, 944-950.
> Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited
> --
> Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
> <[log in to unmask]>
>                          ^^^
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