# Restless Legs



## Ian (Apr 18, 1999)

www.restlesslegs.org.ukCame across the above whilst reading recent article on restless legs syndrome.A few interesting points:'The cause of restless legs, also known as Ekbom syndrome, has not been identified but it may be linked to a lack of dopamine in one of the brain's receptors which affects the spinal cord reflexes. Post mortems of sufferers carried out at Penn State College of Medicine in Chicago confirmed that iron deficiency in the brain also plays a part.'and,'Clinical trials have shown that a group of drugs called dopamine agonists, normally prescribed for Parkinson's and not licensed for Ekbom syndrome, reduces the symptoms and improves sleep quality. New drugs are under development."A great deal of money is going into research" says Dr *****, "because there is a huge untapped market".'Ian


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

That was interesting Ian.My father suffered from restless legs which caused my mother (as well as his snoring), to sleep in separate beds. They are both in their 80's now and my Dad has developed Parkinson's. I know, despite the Parkinson's meds that he is on, he still has some trouble sleeping. I haven't really asked him if he noticed some improvement in his legs since he has been taking the medications though. I know it is difficult to find the right doses of Parkinson's meds though, and that either the meds or the condition itself can cause some medications to be contraindicated in combination with other meds too. Of course, part of Fibro is not getting into the sound sleep stage, so our muscles ache, including our legs. Sounds like "untapped market" is the bottom line for research these days. Who knows where it might lead though.


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## Askeladden (Dec 18, 2003)

Symptoms of RLS can also be something else. Scroll down to read the chiropractor's reply at the end of this thread: http://pub123.ezboard.com/fsunshine35446fr...picID=283.topic


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