Season 6 | Episode 22

DRS. JOHN WINKELMAN AND ANDY BERKOWSKI, GUESTS

In this episode of Talking Sleep, Drs. John Winkelman and Andy Berkowski discuss the updated AASM clinical practice guideline for the treatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder.

John Winkelman, MD, PhD, is a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Sleep Disorders Clinical Research Program in the department of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research includes a focus on the epidemiology, physiology, cardiovascular consequences and treatment of restless legs syndrome. He was the chair of the AASM Clinical Practice Guideline Task Force for the Treatment of RLS and PLMD and is the chairman of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group.

Andy Berkowski, MD, is a sleep neurologist at ReLACS Health, a direct specialty care sleep clinic dedicated to the treatment of complex sleep disorders through telemedicine. He completed fellowship training in sleep medicine at the Stanford Sleep Center and practiced academic sleep medicine for seven years before founding ReLACS Health in the spring of 2022. In addition to serving patients in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida as part of his clinical work with ReLACS Health, he volunteers on the scientific and medical advisory board of the RLS Foundation. He was the vice chair of the AASM Clinical Practice Guideline Task Force for the Treatment of RLS and PLMD.

Resources

  1. Winkelman JW, Berkowski JA, DelRosso LM, et al. Treatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024 Sep 26. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.11390
  2. Winkelman JW, Berkowski JA, DelRosso LM, et al. Treatment of restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024 Sep 26. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.11392
  3. Silber MH, Buchfuhrer MJ, Earley CJ, Koo BB, Manconi M, Winkelman JW; Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. The management of restless legs syndrome: an updated algorithm. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021;96(7):1921-1937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.12.026
  4. Silber MH, Becker PM, Buchfuhrer MJ, et al; Scientific and Medical Advisory Board, Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. The appropriate use of opioids in the treatment of refractory restless legs syndrome. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018;93(1):59-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.11.007