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Related Experiment Videos

Methadone for refractory restless legs syndrome.

William G Ondo1

  • 1Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas 77030-2744, USA. wondo@bcm.tmc.edu

Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|December 8, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Methadone offers an effective treatment for restless legs syndrome (RLS) when dopaminergic agonists fail. This study shows significant symptom reduction and no augmentation in RLS patients treated with methadone.

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Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) often initially responds to dopaminergic agonists.
  • A significant portion of patients experience adverse events, refractoriness, or augmentation with dopaminergic therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of methadone in RLS patients who have failed dopaminergic treatments.

Main Methods:

  • Administered methadone (5-40 mg/day) to 29 RLS patients with prior dopaminergic treatment failures.
  • Assessed symptom reduction, adverse events, augmentation, and long-term treatment retention.

Main Results:

  • 17 of 27 eligible patients remained on methadone for an average of 23 months with significant symptom reduction (>75%).
  • No patients on methadone developed augmentation.
  • 8 patients discontinued methadone due to adverse events, lack of efficacy, or logistical reasons.

Conclusions:

  • Methadone is a viable treatment option for RLS patients unresponsive to dopaminergic agonists.
  • Methadone demonstrates efficacy in reducing RLS symptoms without causing augmentation.

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