Drug is helpful in trial of patients with restless legs

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Two new studies show that pramipexole is effective in the treatment of restless legs syndrome.
Pramipexole is a drug that is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Now two studies have been presented at the World Association of Sleep Medicine meeting which show the drug also helps with restless legs.

People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) complain of a hard-to-describe discomfort in the legs which often prevents sleep. In the first study, patients took pramipexole for six weeks and then continued either on the drug or on placebo. Withdrawal of the drug led to a re-appearance of RLS. In the second study, patients received one of three doses of pramipexole, or placebo, for 12 weeks and those on active drug showed significantly more improvement than those on placebo. It’s hoped that pramipexole will soon be approved for the treatment of RLS.

Source
World Association of Sleep Medicine inaugural conference October 2005