TREATMENT OF RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME WITH PERGOLIDE - AN OPEN CLINICAL-TRIAL

Dopaminergic treatment with levodopa (L-dopa) has been proven as the t reatment of first choice in patients with restless leg syndrome (RLS). Augmentation of symptoms and end-of-dose rebound phenomena under L-do pa/decarboxylase inhibitor treatment present major problems in some pa tients. To evaluate the efficacy of pergolide in RLS, we heated 15 pat ients suffering from severe RLS, who had previously experienced an aug mentation of symptoms under long-term treatment with L-dopa, in an ope n clinical trial with pergolide. All patients reported an improvement of their RLS symptoms. Our study shows that pergolide, if administered at a mean dose of 0.4 mg in combination with domperidone, is a very e ffective drug in the treatment of sleep disturbances and daytime sympt oms associated with RLS, and does not cause any serious side effects d uring the observation period of 6 months.