The Medical Freedom Channel

“After a speedy rise as one of the nation’s oddest-sounding designer disorders, restless legs syndrome may have run its course. In 2005, the federal Food and Drug Administration approved the first medication targeting the twitching condition, propelling the problem to household-name status and launching a multimillion-dollar consumer advertising campaign by manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. Television ads touting ropinirole hydrochloride, a drug originally used to treat Parkinson’s disease, sent jittery patients to doctors’ offices to demand the brand name medication called Requip.” [editor’s note: Get this straight — there ARE people who legitiately suffer from this disorder, for whatever neurological reasons (I used to live with one), but it is by no means the “epidemic” implied by thosa TV ads! Fortunately, this is one case where the “industry” (cf. ADHD) has not yet grown enough to be unstoppable! - SAT] (05/14/08)