Condition

Restless Legs Syndrome

Uncontrollable urge to move legs

356.1M

People Affected

Active Trials

10.7M

New Cases/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

Oral Iron Supplementation (effective if iron deficient)

90% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 85% Safety• 30 trials• 5K participants

HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Ferrous sulfate 325 mg daily or every other day (with Vitamin C)

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

4-12 weeks

Duration

3-6 months then maintenance

Response Rate

80%

Remission Rate

50%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Constipation: 20%

Nausea: 10%

Abdominal pain: 8%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$90

Monitoring

$400

Side Effects

$20

Total Annual

$510

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.4

ICER

$1,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$1,020

Cost per Responder

$638

Treatment Outcomes

Efficacy Outcomes

Overall Effectiveness

+90%

Response Rate

+80%

Remission Rate

+50%

Common Side Effects

Constipation

+20%

Nausea

+10%

Abdominal pain

+8%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4

Pramipexole

80% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 58% Safety• 30 trials• 5K participants

HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 0.125-0.5 mg daily

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-3 days

Duration

lifetime

Response Rate

70%

Remission Rate

25%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Nausea: 15%

Somnolence: 15%

Dizziness: 10%

Augmentation (long-term): 30%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$180

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$530

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.2

ICER

$10,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$2,120

Cost per Responder

$757

Treatment Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

IRLSSG Rating Scale (IRLS) Score25/40 points

-52% (-13 points)

RLS Severity (Patient-rated daily symptom scale)3.5/5 points

-40% (-1.4 points)

RLS Sleep Disturbance Scale Score18/30 points

-35% (-6.3 points)

Secondary Benefits

Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLS-QoL) Score50/100 points

+20% (+10 points)

Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) Score14/24 points

-30% (-4.2 points)

Periodic Limb Movement in Sleep (PLMS) Index35 events/hour

-25% (-8.75 events/hour)

Common Side Effects

Nausea

+15%

Somnolence

+15%

Dizziness

+10%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4

Pregabalin

78% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 62% Safety• 7 trials• 4K participants

HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 150-450 mg daily

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 weeks

Duration

lifetime

Response Rate

72%

Remission Rate

30%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Dizziness: 25%

Somnolence: 20%

Weight gain: 7%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$360

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$710

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.25

ICER

$25,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$2,367

Cost per Responder

$979

Treatment Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

IRLSSG Rating Scale Score22/40 points (higher indicates more severe symptoms)

-54.5% (-12 points)

Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLSQoL) Score55 points (higher indicates worse quality of life)

-32.7% (-18 points)

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Score14/21 points (higher indicates worse sleep quality)

-28.6% (-4 points)

Secondary Benefits

Periodic Limb Movement in Sleep (PLMS) Index45 events/hour

-55.6% (-25 events/hour)

Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO)80 minutes

-37.5% (-30 minutes)

Pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) Score6/10 points (where 0=no pain, 10=worst possible pain)

-33.3% (-2 points)

Common Side Effects

Dizziness

+25%

Somnolence

+20%

Weight gain

+7%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4

Ropinirole

78% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 58% Safety• 25 trials• 5K participants

HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 0.25-4 mg daily

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-3 days

Duration

lifetime

Response Rate

70%

Remission Rate

25%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Nausea: 15%

Somnolence: 15%

Dizziness: 10%

Augmentation (long-term): 30%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$180

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$530

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.2

ICER

$10,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$2,120

Cost per Responder

$757

Treatment Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

IRLS Score25/40 points

-40% (-10 points)

Nights with RLS Symptoms per Week5.5 nights per week

-27.3% (-1.5 nights/week)

Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGIS) Score4/5 points

-37.5% (-1.5 points)

Secondary Benefits

RLS Quality of Life Scale Score60/100 points

-30% (-18 points)

Sleep Latency45 minutes

-26.7% (-12 minutes)

Wakefulness After Sleep Onset (WASO)90 minutes

-27.8% (-25 minutes)

Common Side Effects

Nausea

+15%

Somnolence

+15%

Dizziness

+10%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4

Rotigotine

77% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 57% Safety• 23 trials• 2K participants

HIGH EvidenceModerate ValueDose: 1-3 mg/24 hours patch daily

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-3 days

Duration

lifetime

Response Rate

68%

Remission Rate

22%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Application site reactions: 15%

Nausea: 15%

Somnolence: 12%

Augmentation (long-term): 30%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$9,000

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$100

Total Annual

$9,400

Cost-Effectiveness

MODERATE

QALYs Gained

0.2

ICER

$100,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$41,778

Cost per Responder

$13,926

Treatment Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

IRLSSG Rating Scale Total Score28 points (0-40 scale, higher is worse)

-50% (-14 points)

Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep (PLMS) Index35 movements/hour

-57.1% (-20 movements/hour)

Wakefulness After Sleep Onset (WASO)95 minutes

-42.1% (-40 minutes)

Secondary Benefits

Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLS-QoL) Total Score58 points (0-100 scale, higher is worse)

-34.5% (-20 points)

Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) Score13 points (0-24 scale, higher is more sleepy)

-30.8% (-4 points)

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Global Score15 points (0-21 scale, higher is worse sleep quality)

-33.3% (-5 points)

Common Side Effects

Application site reactions

+15%

Nausea

+15%

Somnolence

+12%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4

Gabapentin Enacarbil

75% Effectiveness• 88% Confidence• 62% Safety• 26 trials• 3K participants

HIGH EvidencePoor ValueDose: 600-1200 mg once daily

Find Trials

Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️

Meth💀

Cigarettes🚬

Chemo☢️

Alcohol🍺

Morphine💊

Antibiotics💉

Tylenol💊

Exercise🏃

Water💧

DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 weeks

Duration

lifetime

Response Rate

68%

Remission Rate

22%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

Common Side Effects:

Somnolence: 25%

Dizziness: 20%

Nausea: 8%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$7,200

Monitoring

$300

Side Effects

$50

Total Annual

$7,550

Cost-Effectiveness

POOR

QALYs Gained

0.25

ICER

$180,000/QALY

Cost per Remission

$34,318

Cost per Responder

$11,103

Treatment Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) Total Score25.0 points (Scale: 0-40)

-44% (-11.0 points)

Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) Score4.5 points (Scale: 1-7)

-22.2% (-1.0 points)

MOS Sleep Scale - Sleep Problems Index I65.0 points (Scale: 0-100)

-23.1% (-15.0 points)

Secondary Benefits

Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLSQoL) Questionnaire Score55.0 points (Scale: 0-100)

-21.8% (-12.0 points)

Wake Time After Sleep Onset (WASO)100 minutes

-25% (-25 minutes)

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Global Score14.0 points (Scale: 0-21)

-28.6% (-4.0 points)

Common Side Effects

Somnolence

+25%

Dizziness

+20%

Nausea

+8%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4