RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome) is a prevalent neurological condition that affects 2.5–15% of the Western population. Sleep loss impairs everyday function for one–third to one–half of RLS sufferers. Patients with RLS dread the start of each RLS attack because they are so unpleasant. The most generally established treatment for RLS is drugs that pass the blood–brain barrier. Ergot and non-ergot derived dopaminergic medications were proposed as therapies for RLS in the 1980s. However, reports of severe mid– and long–term complications following dopaminergic medication therapy of RLS began to emerge in the 1970s, including tartive dyskinesia as a result of widespread usage of antipsychotic medicines.
