Study results

[ViewsAskew]

This is very good news. This abstract comes from NAPS. Each week they send me journal abstracts regarding sleep disorders. This is similar to what one of our very own members is doing: using a dopaminergic patch instead of taking the drugs orally. From reading this, it seems that the hope is that this will eliminate the side effects associated with the DAs. This is the first report I've seen, although there probably have been others. The news is very promising and may mean that some of us that could not tolerate the DAs before may be able to if it is in this form.

"Restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients suffer from symptoms not only at bedtime but also with variable circadian patterns. Transdermal application forms of dopamine agonists are expected to lead to a stable plasma concentration of the active drug which could ease treatment for RLS patients with daytime symptoms and avoid side effects of oral dopaminergic therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this controlled pilot study, 10 patients (six females, four males, mean age 58 years) with severe and long-lasting idiopathic RLS were treated during an initial open-label phase for 2 weeks either with one (n=3 patients) or, if required, two patches of lisuride every other day (dose per patch: 3mg lisuride, nominal effective release rate 7.0mug lisuride/h). Patients were then randomized to double-blind treatment with lisuride (n=5) or placebo (n=4) for 1 week. RESULTS: Severity of RLS clearly improved during open-label and double-blind treatment with lisuride but became worse under placebo according to the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group Rating Scale (IRLS), RLS-6, and Clinical Global Impressions (CGIs) scales, and actigraphy assessments (periodic leg movement index) in the 1-week double-blind period. CONCLUSION: The explorative findings of this small controlled study suggest that lisuride patches might be an efficacious treatment for RLS patients without clinically relevant tolerability problems. "