Treatment of periodic leg movements with a dopaminergic agonist in subjects with total spinal cord lesions.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of L-dopa on the PLM/h index of spinal cord injured subjects.


METHODS
São Paulo, Brazil.


METHODS
Thirteen male volunteers with spinal cord section between T7 - T12, and mean age of 31.6+/-8.3 years participated in the study. L-dopa or placebo were administered for 30 days, 1 h before the volunteers went to sleep, in a double blind, crossover design. Polysomnographic recordings were performed on ten occasions: Phase 1: Basal night, following an adaptation night at the sleep laboratory; phase 2: after 1, 7, 21 and 30 days of L-dopa administration; phase 3: first night of L-dopa or placebo withdrawal; phase IV: 1, 7, 21 and 30 days after placebo ingestion.


RESULTS
The index of PLM/h on the first night of L-dopa or placebo withdrawal (phase III) was lower than on both the basal night and the first night of L-dopa treatment. At the time of polysomnographic analysis, volunteers were divided into two groups: index of PLM/h below five and those whose index was above five. Comparison between L-dopa and placebo treatments revealed that only those volunteers with an index above five revealed a reduction in PLM in L-dopa.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that despite the spinal cord lesions, L-dopa treatment is capable of minimizing PLM during sleep.
de Mello
M T
MT
Department of Psychobiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil.
Poyares
D L
DL
Tufik
S
S
D000328:Adult; D001545:Benserazide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D020183:Nocturnal Paroxysmal Dystonia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000150:complications*; D017286:Polysomnography; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D007980:Levodopa; D001545:Benserazide