title: [Restless legs syndrome: long-term follow-up of a series of patients].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects 10% of the general population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyze a series of patients with a minimum follow-up period of four years, treated during an interval of 14 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of medical records of 200 patients assessed and followed by the authors at a private outpatient clinic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty patients aged 25 to 90 years (34 females), who had a mean follow-up of 6,3 years (range 4-14 years), were selected. Sixty percent responded to therapy that initially consisted in dopamine agonists in 78% of cases. Thirty four percent remained symptomatic and 4% worsened. RLS severity scale improved from an initial score of 19,2 to 12,5 at the last follow-up visit (p < 0.05). Thirty-three patients (66%) experienced an overall worsening of symptoms beyond pretreatment levels during follow-up. The strategies to overcome this augmentation were the change to another agonist, use of ligands such as pregabalin and gabapentin, opioids and iron. Low ferritin was common in most of the patients in whom it was measured (24 of 45 results), mainly in those with augmentation (p < 0,05). Six percent of patients treated with dopamine agonist developed an impulse control disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RLS is a treatable condition during a long period of follow-up in most patients. We found a high rate of potentiation at presentation which can be explained by the inadequate use of high doses of dopaminergic agents.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurología, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miranda C
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurología, Clínica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hudson A
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015259:Dopamine Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012148:Restless Legs Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015259:Dopamine Agents; D018491:Dopamine Agonists