Gabapentin versus levodopa for the treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome in hemodialysis patients: an open-label study.
BACKGROUND
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), a common problem increasing morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients, affects 20-30% of uremic patients. Our aim was to find the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of RLS in HD patients by comparing a largely used drug, levodopa.


METHODS
Patients with RLS answered three questionnaires (RLS rating scale proposed by IRLSSG, the Short Form (SF)-36 and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) for the evaluation of severity of RLS, effects on quality of life and quality of sleep.


RESULTS
Fifteen patients (4.7%) (5 F, 10 M) with a mean age of 45.8+/-15.3 years got RLS diagnosis. When we compare the two drugs for severity of RLS symptoms relief, the effect of gabapentin was more significant (p<0.001). Gabapentin significantly improved general health, body pain and social functions (p<0.001). Moreover, regarding sleep parameters, gabapentin was significantly superior to levodopa for sleep quality, sleep latency (p<0.001) and sleep disturbance (p<0.000).


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge this was the first study comparing gabapentin and levodopa efficacy for the treatment of RLS in HD patients. Our results suggested that gabapentin is an effective drug for the management of RLS in hemodialysis patients.
Department of Nephrology, Baskent University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. hasanmicoz@hotmail.com
Hasan
H
Micozkadioglu
Fatma Nurhan
FN
Ozdemir
Altug
A
Kut
Siren
S
Sezer
Umit
U
Saatci
Mehmet
M
Haberal
D000328:Adult; D000588:Amines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D000077206:Gabapentin; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000588:Amines; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D007980:Levodopa; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin