Search

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has been suggested as a prodromal symptom of Parkinson disease (PD). Olfactory or taste dysfunction can also occur preceding PD diagnosis. However, whether RLS is associated with chemosensory dysfunction remains unknown. We thus aim to investigate the association between RLS and perceived olfactory and taste dysfunction. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional analysis including 90,337 Chinese adults free of neurodegenerative diseases in the Kailuan study in 2016. Presence of RLS was defined using revised RLS diagnostic criteria or the Cambridge-Hopkins questionnaire for RLS. Perceived olfactory and taste dysfunction was collected via a questionnaire. The association between RLS and perceived olfactory and taste dysfunction was assessed using logistic regression model, adjusting for potential cofounders such as age, sex, and medical history. RESULTS RLS was associated with high odds of having perceived olfactory and/or taste dysfunction (adjusted odds ratio = 5.92, 95% confidence interval = 3.11-11.3). The significant association persisted when using the Cambridge-Hopkins questionnaire (adjusted odds ratio = 5.55, 95% confidence interval = 2.37-13.0) or when excluding participants with major chronic diseases. CONCLUSIONS RLS was associated with increased odds of perceived olfactory and taste dysfunction.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a chronic sensorimotor disorder diagnosed by clinical symptoms. It is challenging to translate the diagnostic self-reported features of RLS to animals. To help researchers design their experiments, a task force was convened to develop consensus guidelines for experimental readouts in RLS animal models. The RLS clinical diagnostic criteria were used as a starting point. After soliciting additional important clinical features of RLS, a consensus set of methods and outcome measures intent on capturing these features-in the absence of a face-to-face interview-was generated and subsequently prioritized by the task force. These were, in turn, translated into corresponding methods and outcome measures for research on laboratory rats and mice and used to generate the final recommendations. The task force recommended activity monitoring and polysomnography as principal tools in assessing RLS-like behavior in rodents. Data derived from these methods were determined to be the preferred surrogate measures for the urge to move, the principal defining feature of RLS. The same tools may be used to objectively demonstrate sleep-state features highly associated with RLS, such as sleep disturbance and number and periodicity of limb movements. Pharmacological challenges and dietary or other manipulations that affect iron availability are desirable to aggravate or improve RLS-like behavior and lend greater confidence that the animal model being proffered replicates key clinical features of RLS. These guidelines provide the first consensus experimental framework for researchers to use when developing new rodent models of RLS. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The objective of the current review was to update the previous evidence-based medicine review of treatments for restless legs syndrome published in 2008. All randomized, controlled trials (level I) with a high quality score published between January 2007 and January 2017 were reviewed. Forty new studies qualified for efficacy review. Pregabalin, gabapentin enacarbil, and oxycodone/naloxone, which did not appear in the previous review, have accrued data to be considered efficacious. Likewise, new data enable the modification of the level of efficacy for rotigotine from likely efficacious to efficacious. Intravenous ferric carboxymaltose and pneumatic compression devices are considered likely efficacious in idiopathic restless legs syndrome. Bupropion and clonidine were reviewed, but the lack of data determined a rating of insufficient evidence for efficacy. The following interventions continue to be considered efficacious as in 2008: levodopa, ropinirole, pramipexole, cabergoline, pergolide, and gabapentin. Bromocriptine, oxycodone, carbamazepine, and valproic acid are considered likely efficacious. Oral iron is nonefficacious in iron-sufficient subjects, but its benefit for patients with low peripheral iron status has not been adequately evaluated. Restless legs syndrome augmentation has been identified as a significant long-term treatment complication for pramipexole more than pregabalin and possibly for all dopaminergic agents more than α2δ ligands. Therefore, special monitoring for augmentation is required for all dopaminergic medications as well as tramadol. Other drugs also require special safety monitoring: cabergoline, pergolide, oxycodone, methadone, tramadol, carbamazepine, and valproic acid. Finally, we also highlighted gaps and needs for future clinical research and studies of restless legs syndrome. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of augmentation over 66 weeks of treatment with ropinirole in patients with primary restless legs syndrome (RLS). Augmentation is the main complication of long-term dopaminergic treatment of RLS. Despite widespread use of ropinirole in RLS, no studies have prospectively and systematically assessed the incidence of augmentation with its use. The study consisted of 26 weeks of double-blind flexible-dose treatment with ropinirole or placebo, followed by 40 weeks of open-label ropinirole treatment.. Patients had no previous history of augmentation. Potential cases of augmentation were identified with the Structured Interview for the Diagnosis of Augmentation and the Augmentation Severity Rating Scale and through reporting of adverse events. Cases were blindly evaluated by an expert panel using the NIH diagnostic criteria for augmentation. Four hundred and four patients participated in the double-blind study and 269 in the open-label phase, with a discontinuation rate of 42%. IRLS baseline scores improved at the end of the double-blind (DB) phase (mean ± SE) by -15.9 ± 0.76 for ropinirole, by -13.4 ± 0.77 for placebo (P < .05) and by -20.4 ± 0.55 during the open-label phase. The incidence rates of augmentation were 3.5% for ropinirole and

We assessed the efficacy and tolerability of gabapentin enacarbil in the treatment of moderate to severe primary restless legs syndrome and associated sleep disturbance. This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-period crossover polysomnography study of gabapentin enacarbil 1200 mg or placebo taken once daily. Subjects were randomized 1:1 to a sequence of gabapentin enacarbil:placebo or placebo:gabapentin enacarbil, receiving each treatment for 4 weeks. The primary end point was the mean change from baseline at weeks 4 and 10 (4/10) last observation carried forward in wake time during sleep. The key secondary end point was the mean change from baseline at weeks 4/10 last observation carried forward in periodic limb movements associated with arousal per hour of sleep. Tolerability assessments included adverse events. One hundred thirty-six subjects were randomized (gabapentin enacarbil:placebo, 67; placebo:gabapentin enacarbil, 69), and 114 (gabapentin enacarbil:placebo, 53; placebo:gabapentin enacarbil, 61) completed the study. Gabapentin enacarbil 1200 mg significantly reduced wake time during sleep (mean change from baseline [adjusted mean treatment difference]: -26.0 minutes; P < .0001) and periodic limb movements associated with arousal per hour of sleep (adjusted mean treatment difference: -3.1 periodic limb movements with arousal/hour; P = .002) compared with placebo at weeks 4/10 last observation carried forward. The most commonly reported adverse events were dizziness (gabapentin enacarbil 20%, placebo 2%) and somnolence (gabapentin enacarbil 13%, placebo 2%). Gabapentin enacarbil 1200 mg once daily significantly reduces restless legs syndrome-associated sleep disturbance and periodic limb movements associated with arousal per hour of sleep and is generally well tolerated in adults with moderate to severe primary restless legs syndrome.

This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial (NCT00135993) assessed efficacy and safety of the dopamine agonist rotigotine in the treatment of idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) over a 6-month maintenance period. A total of 505 eligible participants with moderate to severe RLS (IRLS sum score >or= 15) were randomly assigned to five groups to receive either placebo or rotigotine (0.5, 1, 2, or 3 mg/24 hr) delivered by once-daily transdermal patch (fixed-dose regimen). The two co-primary efficacy parameters decreased from baseline to end of maintenance in IRLS sum score and in clinical global impressions (CGI-1) score. On both primary measures, 2 and 3 mg/24 hr rotigotine was superior to placebo (P < 0.001). Adjusted treatment differences to placebo for the IRLS sum score were -4.5 (95% CI: -6.9, -2.2) for 2 mg/24 hr rotigotine, -5.2 (95% CI: -7.5, -2.9) for 3 mg/24 hr rotigotine, and for CGI item 1 -0.65 (95% CI: -1.0, -0.3) and -0.9 (95% CI: -1.3, -0.5) for the 2 and 3 mg/24 hr doses, respectively. Skin reactions (27%) and known dopaminergic side effects such as nausea (18.1%) and headache (11.6%) were mostly mild or moderate in rotigotine subjects. Rotigotine transdermal patches releasing 2 to 3 mg/24 hr significantly reduced the severity of RLS symptoms. Treatment efficacy was maintained throughout the 6-month double-blind period.

Insomnia, characterized by difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS), early-morning awakenings (EMA), or nonrestorative sleep (NRS), is the most common sleep disorder. W...

The pathophysiology of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is complex and remains to be fully elucidated. The condition is predominantly a disorder of the central rather than the peripheral, nervous system, and dopaminergic dysfunction in subcortical systems appears to play a central role. Conditions associated with secondary RLS, such as pregnancy or end-stage renal disease, are characterized by iron deficiency, which suggests that disturbed iron homeostasis may also play a role in the development of the condition. Although most patients with RLS have normal serum ferritin levels, concentrations of ferritin and transferrin in the cerebrospinal fluid are reduced, suggesting iron deficiency within the central nervous system. Although iron is necessary for the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting step in dopamine synthesis, it is unclear whether this relationship plays a role in the aetiology of RLS. There also appears to be a genetic component, particularly when the condition develops before the age of 45 years. Candidate genetic loci have been located on chromosomes 9p, 12q and 14q, but the genes involved have yet to be identified. How these three identified aetiological factors, namely dopaminergic dysfunction, impaired iron homeostasis and genetic disposition, are inter-related in the genesis of RLS remains unclear.

Excessive mortality is associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Therefore it is important to diagnose OSA in patients presenting for snoring surgery. A prospective study was performed to develop screening models to detect OSA compared with universal polysomnography for sensitivity and cost. Multivariate analysis of 150 consecutive patients was based on clinical data, questionnaire data, and polysomnography. Two screening models obtained 100% sensitivity and reduced the need for polysomnograms. Cost savings of screening based on clinical data was projected to be $35 to $80 per patient using reported prevalence rates of OSA among snorers. A screening model for OSA using clinical data alone is more cost-effective than one that combines these data with pulse oximetry data, but savings over universal polysomnography were modest.