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Restless leg syndrome involves involuntary muscluar movements of the legs. For my wife they happen mostly at night and are one of the main causes of her inablilty to get good sleep. The leg movements help prevent REM sleep from occuring, at least in my wife. My wife does not have PD. We actually got on this list for information to assist my father in law. but my wife does have Rhumetoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. And Restless Leg goes along with the Fibro. My wife has taken Cinemet for her Restless leg for a long time. Years actually. We are now weaning her off it as the drug seems to be now making the situation worse instead of better. So even though we do not have PD the information was useful to someone on the list. JWBJRIII -----Original Message----- From: Richard R. Klemmer <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 9:54 AM Subject: Re: Restless leg >This may be a dumb question, but what is restless leg syndrome, and how >does that relate, if at all, to other random movements caused by PD >and/or Sinemet? > >"Kathrynne Holden, MS,RD" wrote: >> >> Dear Listfriends, >> The June 1999 issue of "Tufts U. Health & Nutrition Letter" has a short >> article on Restless Leg Syndrome that may of interest to some. It states >> "studies have indicated...in patients with low levels of iron, iron >> pills may be all it takes to relieve symptoms..." >> >> The iron deficiency, measured by levels of serum ferritin, can be low, >> low-normal, or even higher for some people to respond positively to iron >> supplementation for restless leg symptoms. Iron is needed for dopamine >> to work. >> >> You MUST discuss this with your physician, preferably a neurologist, >> before trying it -- abnormal iron deposits have been found upon autopsy >> of PD patients, and the cause is not clearly known at this time. >> >> The article goes on to say that about 20-25% of one physician's patients >> with RLS have received benefit from supplements of vitamin E -- 400 IUs >> in the morning, and 400 IUs in the evening. You should discuss this with >> your physician also, especially if you're taking blood thinners such as >> aspirin or coumadin. >> >> Best regards, >> Kathrynne >> >> -- >> Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD >> Medical nutrition therapy >> Author: "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease" >> "Parkinson's disease: assessing and managing unique nutrition needs" >> http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/