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To:  Joe Irr - Worldwide Product Manager, Sinemet Brand.
Thank you for your message re Restless Legs Syndrome.  It would appear that
RLS is finally being recognized as a serious condition which is quite common
and can literally disrupt some lives by causing a nocturnal hell - and as you
said this difficult condition is not just confined to nights for some people.
 
In regards Sinemet CR being used as treatment in a patient who has RLS as
well as PD.  There is a  risk that too much of this drug will be used to
control the symptoms of both conditions.  For example a patient may be taking
Sinemet CR three or four times during the day to control Parkinson's symptoms
enough to function, and once or twice during the night in order to get enough
relief from Restless Legs Syndrome in order to sleep.  One could get rather
desparate trying to get some measure of comfort from two devastating
conditions.
 
Other drugs used to relieve RLS are Klonopin, an anticonvulsant, and codeine.
 Some doctors are afraid patients will become addicted to codeine but the
journal SLEEP reports a study done on this drug as a treatment for RLS shows
that it can be used long term with little risk of addiction.
 
Barbara Yacos
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