Bromocriptine for RLS

Clinical bottom line

There is no evidence from a small trial in six patients that bromocriptine is of any value in RLS.

Reference

AS Walters et al. A double-blind randomized crossover trial of bromocriptine and placebo in restless legs syndrome. Annals of neurology 1988 24: 455-458.

Clinical trial

This tiny trial involved six patients treated with bromocriptine and placebo in two 30-day periods separated with two weeks without drug. Outcomes were mainly sleep studies.

Results

The details are in Table 1. There were some small differences in sleep, and RLS symptoms, though the latter are not well described.

Table 1: Clinical trial of bromocriptine

Reference	Design	Treatments and Outcomes	Patient details	Efficacy	Adverse Events
Walters et al. Ann Neurol 1988 24: 455-458	R = 1 DB = 1 WD = 1 QS = 3 Crossover Duration = 30 days in each phase	Treatments 1 Bromocriptine 7.5 mg daily (6) 2 Placebo (6) Outcomes Symptoms and sleep studies	Six patients with sleep disturbances with severe limb movements. Mean age 61 years (40-68 years), duration of RLS average 19 (range 10-39) years	Five patients improved on bromocriptine, with significant decrease in number of limb movements while asleep, and RLS symptoms	One patient on bromocriptine suffered nasal stuffiness

Comment

There is no evidence that bromocriptine is helpful in RLS.