Requip eases restless legs, study confirms

By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A large study confirms that
restless legs syndrome (RLS) markedly reduces quality of life
and interferes with sleep and that the drug Requip provides
significant improvement in symptoms of RLS.

“Sleep is important for its restorative properties and
treatment of RLS with Requip improves symptoms, sleep
disturbance and quality of life in most RLS patients,” Dr.
Richard Bogan told Reuters Health.

Requip, also known as ropinirole, was approved in May 2005
by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of

RLS.

Bogan, of SleepMed of South Carolina in Columbia and
colleagues conducted a blinded placebo-controlled study of
Requip in 381 patients with RLS. Subjects took Requip or
placebo 1 to 3 hours before bedtime.

At 12 weeks, the average score on the International
Restless Legs Scale — a validated instrument with a maximum
severity of 40 — had fallen from 22.0 to 8.4 in the Requip
group, and from 21.6 to 11.9 in the placebo group. These
differences were significant, the investigators note in a
report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Moreover, a significantly greater number of patients taking
Requip than placebo were “much” or “very much” improved on the
Clinical Global Improvement impression score.

Subjective measures of sleep disturbance, quality of life,
and anxiety were also significantly improved with Requip.

This and other trials, the investigators conclude, show
that Requip “is an effective and generally well-tolerated
treatment for moderate to severe primary RLS.”

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic Proceedings January 2006.