Bupropion may improve restless legs syndrome: a report of three cases.
Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common disorder for which agents that enhance dopaminergic activity, including dopamine agonists and levodopa, are the treatment of choice. However, long-term use of dopaminergic drugs can cause unwanted effects such as rebound, tolerance, and augmentation. Bupropion, an inhibitor of dopamine and noradrenalin reuptake, is an antidepressant that modulates dopaminergic systems. The authors report that a low dose of bupropion rapidly and completely ameliorated RLS symptoms in 3 depressed patients within a few days of the initiation of treatment. To their knowledge, this is the first report to show that bupropion may be an effective alternative for treating RLS. Consequently, bupropion may be useful for the treatment of patients with both depression and RLS.
Kim
Sung-Wan
SW
Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, 5 Hak-dong, Dong-ku, Kwangju 501-746, Republic of Korea.
Shin
Il-Seon
IS
Kim
Jae-Min
JM
Yang
Su-Jin
SJ
Shin
Hee-Young
HY
Yoon
Jin-Sang
JS
D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016642:Bupropion / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D016642:Bupropion