Periodic limb movement disorder

Overview 
Theory 
Diagnosis 
Management 
Follow up 
Resources 

Rotigotine

In a meta-analysis of rotigotine treatment for patients with periodic limb movements of sleep (PLMS), periodic limb movement index scores improved significantly (P <0.05) compared with pre-intervention and placebo. However, there were high rates of withdrawal and adverse events.[33]

Selegiline

There has been one unblinded clinical series of patients with PLMD in which selegiline was reported to be well tolerated and to reduce PLMS, but lead to a worsening of sleep efficiency and sleep-onset latency.[34] It has been suggested that selegiline acts as a daytime stimulant. As with levodopa and dopamine agonists, all other evidence is based on the treatment of PLMS associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), for which evidence has been demonstrated.[2][5]

Valproic acid

There has been one open-label study of valproatesodium in patients with PLMD reporting a reduction in PLMS.[35]

Magnesium

There has been one open-label study of magnesium in 10 patients with PLMD (6 associated with RLS), which reported a reduction in the PLMS-Arousal index in this mixed patient population.[36]

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