RLS research

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

good news: it seems that research in RLS is growing, I just looked at the

abstracts of the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology

(April 1999, Toronto) and found 7 contributions dealing with RLS.

Hot spots:

R.'s group (Baltimore) reported that RLS patients showed abnormally low

CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) ferritin , despite having normal serum ferritin.

It is then probable that RLS pathophysiology involves abnormal regulation of

brain iron.

C. Trenkwalder's group (Germany) investigated the involvement of opioidergic

versus dopaminergic systems in RLS. These studies strongly reinforce an

involvement of opioidergic mechanisms in RLS, as far as sensory symptoms and

PLM are concerned.

(IHMO, this is very important because todays thinking is oriented almost

only towards the " dopaminergic way of treatment " and one-sided views are

usually not very productive in the long term.)

S. Frucht et al.(NY), called attention to a previously unreported side

effect for Pramipexole (Mirapex) and Ropinirole (Requip): Falling asleep at

the wheel! 8 Parkinson patients had an incidents which resulted in car

accidents, but none of the patients was injured. All the patients described

a " sudden, irresistible and overwhelming sleepiness without being aware of

falling asleep " . The average dose of pramipexole was 2,9 mg/day, and

Ropinirole 16 mg/day. No further sleep attacks occurred after reducing the

doses.

The med. producers commented that somnolence is often seen in Parkinson's

patients, even those not on drug therapy. No similar cases of patients

falling asleep abruptly while driving have been reported during clinical

trials or in the 2 years that pramipexole has been marketed- it was

prescribed to more than 118,000 patients in the US alone in 1998. (Scrip No

2433, April 30th 1999,p.21)

Did any of the Cyber-RLS-sufferers out there experienced such side effect ?

Have a good day (and night)

Bernard, Switzerland