Efficacy and safety of neurotropin in treatment of restless legs syndrome in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis

Abstract

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of neurotropin in the treatment of restless legs syndrome and sleep disorder in patients with maintenance hemodialysis. Methods Sixty eight patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to control group (n=34) and treatment group (n=34). The trial lasted for 16 weeks, and all patients undergone thorough dialysis. 7.2 units (2 branches) neurotropin were slowly injected to the patients in the treatment group at the end of each hemodialysis and they were stopped after 8 weeks. The patients in the control group had no treatment for restless leg syndrome on the basis of adequate dialysis. All patients were assessed regularly as regards their biochemical indexes, restless legs syndrome rating scale and Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Results All the patients completed the experiment, and restless legs syndrome scores were decreased in two groups. Compared with the baseline, the restless legs syndrome scores decreased significantly in patients treated with neurotropin, and the differences between two groups were significant (P<0.01). In the Pittsburgh sleep quality index scores, the patients in the treatment group decreased in all scores and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusions Neurotropin can relieve the symptoms of restless legs syndrome and sleep disturbance in patients on maintenance hemodialysis and is safe, but symptoms may occur again after withdrawal. Key words: Renal dialysis; Sleep disorder; Restless legs syndrome; Neurotropin