Varenicline

[cornelia]

Has anyone tried this med and if so did it work for RLS?

J Clin Sleep Med. 2013 Oct 15;9(10):1089-1090.
Improvement of Restless Legs Syndrome by Varenicline as Antismoking Treatment.
Romigi A, Vitrani G.
Source
IRCCS Neuromed Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo Sleep Medicine Center Pozzilli (Is), Italy ; Università di Roma Tor Vergata - Neurophysiopathology Department Sleep & Epilepsy Centre, Rome, Italy.
Abstract
Varenicline is a partial agonist at the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor effective as smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. We present a familial case of severe restless legs syndrome (RLS) resistant to polytherapy who showed a consistent and effective amelioration of RLS symptoms after introduction of varenicline as antismoking drug.
CITATION:
Romigi A; Vitrani G. Improvement of restless legs syndrome by varenicline as antismoking treatment. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(10):1089-1090.

Corrie

[ViewsAskew]

Interesting. Another drug that targets our brain chemistry. And, interesting because they continually associate WED/RLS and smoking. I've always wondered if people we WED smoke for other reasons, such as maybe it actually helps reduce anxiety, reduce symptoms, or somehow makes us manager the disease better. I've often believed that a lot of drug addiction and inappropriate alcohol use is related to self-medication.

Here is some more information about the drug - often labeled Chantix in the US. I think it may be only used for stopping smoking the US. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varenicline

Thanks for posting this, Corrie.

[crl363]

Varenicline/Chantix is a nicotine agonist which makes it a dopamine agonist. Nicotine increase dopamine.

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/24/50/11328

When an individual smokes a cigarette they inhale nicotine. Nicotine increases dopamine. The urge for one cigarette a day increases to two cigarettes a day. Two cigarettes a day to one pack a day and the increase continues. Each cigarette raises dopamine levels higher. The actual addition to nicotine really isn’t nicotine at all. The addition is to the increase of dopamine brought on by the increase of nicotine. Although smoking is bad for you the increase in dopamine helps with the RLS/WED symptoms. Varenicline/ Chantix does it without the smoke. That’s also why when someone who smokes and has RLS/WED abruptly quits smoking, it can worsen RLS/WED symptoms.

[cornelia]

The links arevery interesting to read.

Wikipedia says that V does not greatly increase the downstream release of dopamine, but it stimulates the mesolimbic (??) dopamine system which is comparable with buprenorphine, a med treated in opiate addiction (a med which we have been talking about on this forum and seems to work well for RLS.

I intent to send this to my neuro when I have my next appointment with him and will ask him if I may give it a try. He probably will want to study it before he will allow it.

Corrie

[Chipmunk]

Just be careful...I have heard SO many people say that either they or their family member went completely whackadoodle on Chantix. If you give it a try, make sure you have someone on the lookout for psychiatric symptoms. Here's a little more information: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/chantix-dangers-government-attention-study/story?id=14868835

[ViewsAskew]

Just be careful...I have heard SO many people say that either they or their family member went completely whackadoodle on Chantix. If you give it a try, make sure you have someone on the lookout for psychiatric symptoms. Here's a little more information: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/chantix-dangers-government-attention-study/story?id=14868835

Doesn't surprise me a bit! I don't think that we, yet, have a good understanding of or capability to tell exactly what "good" brain chemistry looks like, how to test to see someone's is or is not OK, or how to change it to be better. We have drugs that work sometimes and we're not sure why...and those same drugs can cause horrible issues for the next person....and we do not know why!

[Chipmunk]

It wouldn't surprise me if people with WED did perfectly fine on it, given our backwards responses to many drugs. I just wanted to put that out there because I have heard from multiple people that either they personally felt crazy on it, or they were dealing with a spouse who had just literally taken a crazy pill. It's scary.