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
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