Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensory-motor neurologic disorder which causes severe disturbance that is present in 2.5% of adults and is characterized by an irresistible urge to move and feelings of discomfort in the legs. Dopamine agonists — pramipexole (Mirapex), rotigotine (Neupro), and ropinirole (Requip) — are approved by the FDA for the treatment of RLS and are commonly used to treat RLS. While the dopamine agonists are initially very effective in most patients with RLS, most patients lose that benefit over time. In fact, these medications often produce a worsening of RLS symptoms known as augmentation.
At this point, most referrals to sleep specialists for the management of RLS are for patients suffering from augmentation, when clinicians are unsure about other treatment options. In order to provide evidence-based guidance to healthcare providers treating patients with RLS, John Winkelman, MD, PhD, Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Mass General, and colleagues from several other institutions launched a website — RLS Curbside —
At RLS Curbside, licensed healthcare providers can present brief clinical histories for patients with RLS and get specific, evidence-based management answers. The goal is to help clinicians optimize the medical management of complicated RLS patients by providing a free, HIPAA-compliant, provider to provider forum, independent of any commercial influence. It is hoped that this tool will enable health care providers to confidently treat RLS with the most efficacious, evidenced-based, personalized treatments for their patients. RLS Curbside is supported by a grant from the Baszucki Group.
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New Website Allows Provider Consultations for Patients With Restless Leg Syndrome (Advances in Motion)
Garcia-Borreguero D, Silber MH, Winkelman JW, Högl B, Bainbridge J, Buchfuhrer M, Hadjigeorgiou G, Inoue Y, Manconi M, Oertel W, Ondo W, Winkelmann J, Allen RP. Guidelines for the first-line treatment of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease, prevention and treatment of dopaminergic augmentation: a combined task force of the IRLSSG, EURLSSG, and the RLS-foundation. Sleep Med. 2016 May; 21:1-11.
John Winkelman, MD PhD is the Chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Mass General and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Winkelman's research has primarily focused in two areas: 1) epidemiology, physiology, cardiovascular consequences and treatment of restless legs syndrome, and 2) neurobiology and treatment of insomnia.
