Is restless leg syndrome related to Parkinson's disease?..

A fellow caregiver asked...

Is restless leg syndrome related to Parkinson's disease? What treatments are available for RLS? I have been diagnosed with RLS and am taking Requip medication for this. It does seem to work but is there anything better out yet? thank you for your answer. jim

Expert Answer

Graham A. Glass, MD, is the co-founder of PEAK Neurology and Sleep Medicine, LLC with multiple locations across Alaska. Previously, he was deputy director of the San Francisco Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Care Center PADRECC and assistant clinical professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Glass received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at the San Antonio School of Medicine and completed his neurology residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He subsequently completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the Mayo Clinic.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is not related to Parkinson's Disease (PD), although patients with PD may be more likely to have RLS symptoms as part of their disease. People with RLS are not at an increased risk of developing PD. The fact that some of the same medications are helpful in treating these diseases is a bit of a coincidence and they work for different reasons. Although there are other medications (other than Requip) for RLS, it is typically very effective and considered first line therapy. Medications such as gabapentin are often also used either alone or in conjunction with requip or mirapex to treat RLS symptoms.