Augmentation in restless legs syndrome patients in Korea

• Published in: Sleep & breathing Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 523 - 529
• Main Authors: Jeon, Ji-Ye, Moon, Hye-Jin, Song, Mei Ling, Lee, Hochang B., Cho, Yong Won
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Amines - adverse effects; Amines - therapeutic use; Benzothiazoles - adverse effects; Benzothiazoles - therapeutic use; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids - adverse effects; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids - therapeutic use; Dentistry; Disease Progression; Dopamine; Dopamine Agents - adverse effects; Dopamine Agents - therapeutic use; Drug therapy; Drug Therapy, Combination; Epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - adverse effects; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - therapeutic use; Humans; Indoles - adverse effects; Indoles - therapeutic use; Internal Medicine; Korea; Long-Term Care; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurological disorders; Neurology; Original Article; Otorhinolaryngology; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Pregabalin - adverse effects; Pregabalin - therapeutic use; Restless Legs Syndrome - chemically induced; Restless Legs Syndrome - drug therapy; Restless Legs Syndrome - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Korea; Augmentation; Restless legs syndrome; Dopamine agonists; Prevalence
• ISSN: 1520-9512; 1522-1709; 1522-1709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11325-014-1041-6

Purpose Augmentation has been known as the major complication of long-term dopaminergic treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS). However, there have been no reports on the prevalence of augmentation in Korea. Thus, we aimed to assess the rate of augmentation and evaluate related factors in Korean RLS patients. Methods Ninety-four idiopathic RLS patients who have been treated over a period of at least 6 months were enrolled. Thirty subjects were treated with a dopamine agonist only, and 64 were treated with a dopamine agonist and alpha two delta ligands. We assessed the clinical characteristics of those RLS subjects and evaluated the rate of augmentation. Augmentation was assessed using the NIH criteria for augmentation by two RLS experts independently. Results Eleven subjects (11.7 %) were classified as having definitive or highly suggestive clinical indication of augmentation. In comparing the augmentation group with the non-augmentation group, there were no significant differences of baseline clinical characteristics. Four (13.3 %) of the dopamine agonists monotherapy group and seven (10.9 %) of the combination therapy group were categorized as augmentation. There was no significant difference in the augmentation rate between these two groups. Conclusions We found an 11.7 % augmentation rate in Korean RLS subjects. There was no difference in the rate of RLS augmentation between the dopaminergic monotherapy group and the combined treatment group. It may be related with using a similar dosage of dopaminergic drugs.