Dopamine Agonists discussed as treatment option for Restless Legs Syndrome
Ingelheim, Germany, 09 April 2002 – A new treatment approach of RLS with dopamine agonists is being discussed among leading experts on the first international symposium on the Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on April 15th. RLS is being considered to be a widely underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. The Restless Legs Syndrome has been given the name by the Swedish Neurologist Karl-Axel Ekbom in 1947 who has first described the disease.
In search of new treatments, the effectiveness of dopamine agonists in treating RLS is currently being reported among investigators. At the Stockholm symposium, Jacques Montplaisir, sleep scientist and psychiatrist at the Hospital Sacre Coeur, Montreal, Canada will present new data from a recent study of long term treatment with the dopamine agonist pramipexole.
Lena Leissner, Sleep Unit Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Örebro, reports on the setting of an extensive international placebo controlled study of treating RLS with the dopamine agonist pramipexole, which will begin during 2002.
Richard Allen from the John Hopkins University, USA, and clinical investigators within the indication area are holding lectures during the symposium.
RLS is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder with an age dependent prevalence of up to 10 percent affected in the elderly. The response to medications and results of imaging studies support the view that abnormalities in brain dopaminergic function causes RLS symptoms. The beneficial effects of dopaminergic stimulation were first reported in 1982 in a case narrative by Akpinar.
According to the Swedish RLS Association, up to one million people suffer from the disease in Sweden. Detailed knowledge about the disease is still being rather poor within both, the medical community and the general public.
Boehringer Ingelheim Boehringer Ingelheim, which has some 140 affiliated companies worldwide, focuses on human pharmaceuticals and animal health. The human pharmaceuticals business, which accounts for 95% of sales, is comprised of prescription medicines, consumer health care products and chemicals and biopharmaceuticals for industrial customers. Research and development, production, and distribution facilities are located around the globe. In 2000, Boehringer Ingelheim spent almost EUR 1.0 billion on R&D, equivalent to 16% of net sales.
For more details on the Symposium or participation please contact the Agency: Espri, Ms. Birgitta Juhlén birgitta.juhlen@bjk.se , Phone: +46 8-441-4482.
Contact: Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH Corporate Division Public Relations Julia Kleinmann 55216 Ingelheim am Rhein GERMANY Phone: +49/6132/77 82 71 Fax: +49/6132/77 66 01 Email: kleinman@ing.boehringer-ingelheim.com
