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New Treatments For Restless Legs

Posting Date: 06/20/2005

Sleeping is supposed to be relaxing. It's a time when the body rejuvenates itself. But for millions of people, getting to sleep is difficult because they suffer from restless leg syndrome (RLS).

In this condition, people have an insatiable urge to move their legs. Some describe it as a creepy-crawly sensation. Others call it "jumpy legs." The feeling of pulling, tugging, burning or irritation inside the legs eases only when the sufferer moves the legs around.

Some people get up and pace the floor, others climb stairs or jerk their legs in bed. One woman described a situation in which she ended up literally kicking her husband out of the bed. Because of her endless thrashing, he had to sleep in another room.

A couple in a similar dilemma found a solution: "My husband has suffered from RLS for as long as I have known him. Until several years ago we didn't even know it had a legitimate name. We called it 'leg-i-tis'!

"He tried everything he could think of-calcium, magnesium, quinine, etc. His doctor told him to march around the house until it stopped. (This was usually done in the middle of the night since that was when it occurred.) It would start right back up when he laid down to try to sleep.

"I was watching 'Good Morning America' a while ago and heard about RLS. The doctor said a medication called Mirapex works.

"My husband's doctor prescribed it for him and it has been a miracle for us. I say us because his horrible condition kept us both from sleeping."

Mirapex (pramipexole) is a medicine used to treat Parkinson's disease. Another drug for Parkinson's disease, Requip (ropinirole), was approved earlier this year for treating RLS. It is the first medicine the FDA has officially sanctioned for this use.

In one study, a low dose (1.8 mg) of Requip reduced the average number of leg twitches in sufferers from 49 per hour to just 12. The placebo was no match for this drug.