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CompletedNCT00479154Updated Apr 26, 2012Results posted

Botulinum Toxin to Treat Restless Legs Syndrome

A Phase 1/2 interventional study of Botulinum Toxin A in Restless Legs Syndrome, sponsored by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2012-04-26.

Sponsored by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) · Phase 1/2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1/2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
6
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will test whether botulinum toxin (Botox) may relieve the uncomfortable sensations patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) experience. RLS is a common movement disorder that causes sensory discomfort and restlessness, most often in the legs, which improves with movement. Although medications are available to treat the disorder, many people experience side effects that prevent them from continuing on the medication. The Food and Drug Administration has approved Botox for other movement disorders and for some cosmetic uses.

People 18 years of age or older with moderate to severe RLS who have been taking RLS medications for more than 6 weeks before entering the study may be eligible to participate. Candidates are screened with a medical history, physical and neurological examinations, blood tests and, for women who can become pregnant, a urine pregnancy test.

Participants are randomly assigned to receive injections of either Botox or placebo (salt water) into up to nine areas of the legs. The correct location of the muscles to be injected is determined by electromyography (EMG), a test that measures the electrical activity of muscles. For surface EMG, electrodes (small metal disks) are filled with a conductive gel and taped to the skin. Needle EMG involves inserting a needle into a muscle. Both methods are used in this study.

At 2 and 4 weeks after the injections, subjects are interviewed by telephone and asked to describe their symptoms, side effects and any improvement they may have noticed. After 12 weeks they return to NIH for injections with the alternate compound; that is, those who received Botox previously are given placebo for the second set of injections, and vice-versa. Subjects are again contacted by telephone 2 and 4 weeks after the injections to report their symptoms, side effects and benefits.

Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate the efficacy of botulinum toxin type A, (BoNT) for the treatment of primary Restless legs syndrome (RLS). We hypothesize that BoNT will be effective at decreasing the deep sensory discomfort of RLS.

STUDY POPULATION:

This protocol is a proof of principle double-blind randomized placebo-BoNT crossover outpatient pilot study of 6 patients diagnosed with moderate to very severe primary RLS.

DESIGN:

All subjects will be evaluated at the NIH Clinical Center by a study investigator to determine eligibility for participation in this protocol. We will obtain a complete medical history, and perform a neurological examination, along with laboratory screening studies. Subjects eligible to participate will receive baseline ratings using the Restless Legs Rating Scale (RLS-RS). Subjects will then be randomized to receive electromyography (EMG)-guided injections of up to 90 units of BoNT or an equivalent volume of saline in each lower extremity, in symptomatic muscles. Subjects will then receive follow up ratings at week 2 and 4 following each injection. Twelve weeks after receiving the first injection, subjects will crossover to receive the alternative compound with similar follow up ratings.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary outcome measure will be mean change from baseline at 4 weeks post-injection on the RLS-RS for placebo and BoNT, while the other pre specified outcomes will evaluate patient reported Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGI-C) scores for each group, duration of effect, and adverse events. Only descriptive statistics will be performed on this limited data sample.

02

Conditions studied

  • Restless Legs Syndrome

Keywords

  • Restless Leg Syndrome
  • Botulinum Toxin
  • RLS
03

In context

Psychomotor Agitation

500 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychomotor Agitation; 55 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 6 is below the median of 90 across 413 interventional studies indexed under Psychomotor Agitation.

Browse Psychomotor Agitation studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is the lead sponsor of 592 studies on the registry; 56 are open to participants now.

Of its 18 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 8 (44%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18 or older.
  • Diagnosed with primary RLS based on presence of a characteristic clinical history and the International restless legs syndrome study group (IRLSSG) diagnostic criteria.
  • A minimum score of 11 on the RLS rating scale (this is equivalent to a minimum rating of moderate severity).
  • If subjects are on medications for RLS, the medication regimen must be stabilized for greater than 6 weeks prior to entering the study.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Subjects with any abnormal findings on neurological exam.
  • Subjects with a dermatologic disorder that precludes injections in the legs.
  • Subjects with a positive urine pregnancy test.
  • Subjects without the capacity to give informed consent.
  • Subjects taking aminoglycosides, chloroquine, clindamycin, hydroxychloroquine, magnesium sulfate, quinidine, or an anticoagulant.
  • Subjects with abnormal clinical chemistry, hematology or urine drug screen by laboratory testing.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1 / Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
6 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Botulinum Toxin A

    Injection of onabotulinumtoxinA

    Drug: Botulinum Toxin A

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo (saline)

    Injection of saline placebo

    Drug: Botulinum Toxin A

Interventions

  • DrugBotulinum Toxin A

    Maximum dose of 90 units/leg was injected.

    Also known as: onabotulinum toxin

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale

    Primary outcome measure will be the mean change from baseline in RLS scale at week 2 following placebo/BTX injections. Scoring criteria are: Mild (score 1-10); Moderate (score 11-20); Severe (score 21-30); Very severe (score 31-40).

    Time frame: Week 2 and Week 4 for each intervention (vs. baseline)

07

Results

Posted Apr 26, 2012

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestonePlacebo Then Botulinum ToxinBotulinum Toxin Then Placebo
Started33
Completed33
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryChange in Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale

Primary outcome measure will be the mean change from baseline in RLS scale at week 2 following placebo/BTX injections. Scoring criteria are: Mild (score 1-10); Moderate (score 11-20); Severe (score 21-30); Very severe (score 31-40).

Time frame:
Week 2 and Week 4 for each intervention (vs. baseline)
Reported as:
Mean · RLS Rating Score
Change in Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale
RLS Rating ScorePlaceboBotulinum Toxin
Week 2-5.0 ± 5.1-1.0 ± 3.5
Week 4-2.7 ± 5.9-5.0 ± 6.0

Adverse events

Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Placebo Then Botulinum Toxin—0/3 (0%)0/3 (0%)
Botulinum Toxin Then Placebo—0/3 (0%)0/3 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)Placebo Then Botulinum ToxinBotulinum Toxin Then PlaceboTotal
<=18 years000
Between 18 and 65 years336
>=65 years000
Age Continuous
Age Continuous(years)Placebo Then Botulinum ToxinBotulinum Toxin Then PlaceboTotal
Mean53.7 ± 11.861.7 ± 2.557.7 ± 8.8
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Placebo Then Botulinum ToxinBotulinum Toxin Then PlaceboTotal
Female224
Male112
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Placebo Then Botulinum ToxinBotulinum Toxin Then PlaceboTotal
United States336
08

Study locations

1 site
  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
    Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Blasi J, Chapman ER, Link E, Binz T, Yamasaki S, De Camilli P, Sudhof TC, Niemann H, Jahn R. Botulinum neurotoxin A selectively cleaves the synaptic protein SNAP-25. Nature. 1993 Sep 9;365(6442):160-3. doi: 10.1038/365160a0. PubMed 8103915 ↗
10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 26, 2012, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00479154
Lead sponsor
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Responsible party
Fatta Nahab (Assistant Clinical Investigator, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 28, 2007
Start date
May 2007
Primary completion
Apr 2008
Completion
Apr 2008
Results posted
Apr 26, 2012
Last update
Apr 26, 2012

Study contacts

Fatta Nahab, MD
principal investigator · NINDS/NIH

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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