To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: ICPD: Pergolide Effective In Restless Legs Syndrome URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/2021D2.htm Doctor's Guide July 30, 2001
By Richard Robinson Special to DG News
HELSINKI, FINLAND -- July 30, 2001 -- The dopamine agonist pergolide appears to effectively treats the symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS).
Dr. Claudia Trenkwalder of the University of Goettingen, in Goettingen, Germany, presented the results of a one-year, double-blind study at the 14th International Congress on Parkinson's Disease in Helsinki, July 27-August 1, 2001.
Dr. Trenkwalder and colleagues enrolled 100 patients with RLS, who received either placebo or 0.40 mg pergolide at bedtime.
After six weeks, pergolide-treated patients achieved improvements in subjective RLS severity and significant decreases in nighttime arousal, as determined by polysomnography.
"The treated patients fell to a level that was almost equivalent to the normal level everyone experiences during sleep," Dr. Trenkwalder said, noting that the benefit continued during the day.
Patients who responded to their treatment continued that treatment while maintaining the blind, while non-responders from either arm began open-label pergolide.
"It is interesting," Dr. Trenkwalder noted, "that a small fraction of patients continued on placebo for a year and continued to report benefit." These patients did not have improved polysomnography, however, while all pergolide-treated patients did.
At the end of the year, 30 of 46 patients remained on blinded pergolide at the same dose, and maintained normalized arousal index. Sleep latency in pergolide-treated patients also fell, by approximately 50 percent.
"This is the first study to demonstrate long-term efficacy and safety of pergolide in RLS," concluded Dr. Trenkwalder.
Restless legs syndrome is a common neurological condition causing discomfort in, and an urge to move the legs. Symptoms are worst at night, but continue throughout the day.
The research, titled, "Results of a long-term controlled multicenter trial of pergolide in the treatment of restless legs syndrome", was supported by Eli Lilly --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.