Re: RLS in today's Globe (Feb 15)

[Guest guest]

Howdy folks,

Thanks, Cate, for pointing out the article in the Feb 15 Boston Globe.

From previous experience, I think the URL for the article might change

within a day or two. So if anyone has difficulty accessing it, try going to

the Boston Globe's main website ( http://www.boston.com/globe ) and click on

" Health|Science Monday " ; this will probably work for about a week, after

which finding the article may become more difficult.

I've attached below the paragraphs pertaining specifically to RLS, although

the entire article is worth reading if you can get it. A sidebar in the

print version (listed separately on the website) includes some resources;

they list three organizations, one of which is the RLS foundation.

The article's author, Knox, was (as far as I know) the only

journalist who covered the international CFIDS/FMS conference in the Boston

area last fall, and he did a very good job. The Globe did a followup article

and an editorial about CFIDS.

Anyone so inclined can send feedback on the Sleep article to Knox at

knox@... . Also, letters to the editor can be emailed to

letter@..., or sent to PO Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107. Alternatively

there's an online form for feedback on the Boston Globe website. I think

it's nice to send positive feedback to encourage the journalists and

publications who " get it right " about RLS.

Carry on,

-----------------------------

Boston Globe

February 15, 1999

SLEEP SLIDING AWAY

A. Knox

[snip]

Another Taunton man, 65-year-old Edmund Teixeira, a

retired school principal and coach, had a double dose of

sleeping trouble. In addition to sleep apnea, Teixeira

had a severe case of restless legs syndrome, or RLS - an

irresistable urge to move the legs during the night that

makes sleep impossible. In addition to the restless

movement, patients often describe the syndrome with words

like achy, crampy, creepy-crawly, worms crawling under my

skin, and heebie-jeebies.

The cause of RLS is probably in the nervous system, but

beyond that no one knows if it originates in the lower

brain, the spinal cord, or the peripheral nerves in the

legs. Whatever the cause, Teixeira and other victims

testify that it's a maddening malady that can ruin

everyday life.

''For a period of 18 months, it was a nightmare,'' he

says. ''My legs would start bouncing like mad. I could

not go to sleep. People said, 'You're retired, you can

sleep late.' But I'm a diabetic, I need physical

activity. I need to get up and play golf with friends. It

gets to the point where you'd do anything to get to

sleep.''

Teixeira's problem was tamed, as many patients' are, with

low doses of l-dopa (Sinemet) and pramipexole (Mirapex),

drugs designed for people with Parkinson's disease,

another movement disorder that is thought to have nothing

to do with RLS. For individuals in whom those drugs don't

work, doctors sometimes prescribe benzodiazepine

sedatives, opioids such as codeine, or anticonvulsants

such as gabapentin (Neurontin).

With faithful use of his CPAP face mask for apnea and

medication for his restless legs, Teixeira says, ''I feel

that I've turned the corner. Lately I've been sleeping

right through the night.''

Patients like Teixeira, Clifford, and Tosti are

relatively easy cases, the kind about which Winkelman

says, ''You get to feel good about yourself as a doctor

because usually you can produce tremendous relief for

people.''

[snip]

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At 11:38 AM 2/15/99 -0600, you wrote:

>

>

>Check out today's Boston Globe at

>http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/046/science/Sleep_sliding_away+.shtml

>Cate Murray

>RLS Foundation