Reuters story: Pramipexole effective RLS Med

[Guest guest]

Hi. I (like many others) use my Yahoo! as my starting place on the Web. I

noticed that this story is one of the three Health Headlines that Yahoo! is

featuring today.

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Tuesday April 6 12:52 PM ET

Parkinson's drug eases ``restless leg syndrome''

NEW YORK, Apr 06 (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 's Hospital and Medical Center in New York

City, and Dr. ph 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.

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