Glossary

Active ingredients: The chemically active parts of a pill or treatment.

Anemia: A disorder characterized by an insufficient amount of red blood cells, resulting in a lack of oxygen delivered throughout the body. Symptoms of anemia include fatigue, lack of energy, and shortness of breath.

Clinical trials: Research studies designed to test how effective and safe a particular drug is.

Contraindication: A factor that might increase the amount of risk involved in using a drug.

Diabetes: A disorder caused by the inability of the body to control the amount of sugar in the blood. If left untreated, diabetes can severely damage organs in the body.

Efficacy: The effectiveness of a drug or other treatment.

Hallucinations: Experiencing something that does not actually exist.

Inactive ingredients: The chemically inactive parts of a pill or treatment.

Iron deficiency: A disorder that occurs when there is not enough iron in the body, causing problems with red blood cell production, muscle function, and numerous other biological processes.

Movement disorder: A group of neurological conditions that affect movement.

National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH is the administrative center of biomedical research in the United States and is responsible for the activities of a number of leading research centers.

Parkinson’s disease: A neurological disorder caused by the injury or death of dopamine-producing cells in the brain. This chronic disease can affect muscle control, movement, and speech.

Placebo: A pill or treatment that has no active ingredients. A “sugar pill” is a common name for a placebo.

Pramipexole dihydrochloride: A man-made chemical that can act like dopamine, a naturally occurring chemical in the brain that transmits messages from one brain cell to another. Dopamine plays a role in mood, short-term memory, balance, and motor coordination.

Primary RLS: Restless legs syndrome that occurs without any known cause and is not the effect of a secondary disease.

Quality of life: A scientific measure of personal well-being.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS): A sensorimotor disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations that occur primarily in the legs. These sensations lead to an urge to move the affected limb in an effort to ease discomfort. The effects of RLS are associated with sleep disturbance, daytime exhaustion, and diminished quality of life.

Secondary RLS: Restless legs syndrome symptoms that occur due to a secondary condition like pregnancy, anemia, or iron deficiency. Secondary RLS usually will go away once the underlying condition has been treated.

Sensorimotor: A term used to describe the combination and interaction of sensory (feeling) and motor (moving) effects.

Sleep disorder: A group of conditions characterized by an inability to have normal restful sleep.

Titration: The scientific term for adjusting to the most effective dose of a medication.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): The federal government agency that regulates the development, approval, and sale of drugs and medical devices in the United States.