2026 Annual Meeting Program

June 14, 2026
Marriott Baltimore Waterfront | Grand Ballroom Salon 9

7:30am – 8:00am
Breakfast

8:00am – 8:05am
Welcome
John W Winkelman (United States)

8:05am – 8:15am
Baltimore Presentation
Charlene E Gamaldo (United States)

8:15am – 8:45am
Richard Allen Keynote: 30 years of RLS: Walking in the footsteps of Richard Allen
John W Winkelman (United States)

8:45am – 9:45am
Hot Topics in RLS – Morning Session (Part 1)

8:45am – 9:15am
The relationship of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Restless Legs Syndrome
William G Ondo (United States)

9:15am – 9:45
Phenotypes in RLS

Targeting sensory and motor symptoms in RLS: What does the literature tell us?
Raffaele Ferri (Italy) | 9:15am – 9:30am

Heterogeneity in RLS: Insights from clinical, laboratory, and PSG-Based Phenotyping
Ki-Young Jung (Korea) | 9:30am – 9:45am

9:45am – 10:15am
Coffee Break

10:15am – 11:15am
Basic Science Symposium: Insights into Opioids in RLS Pathophysiology

10:15am – 10:45am
Repurposing opioids: A new morphine-pramipexole strategy for pain (and RLS?)
Stefan Clemens (United States)

10:45am – 11:15am
Role of mu-opioid receptor heteromers in the pathogenesis and treatment of RLS
Sergi Ferre (United States), Garrett Enten (United States)

11:15am – 12:15pm
Wayne Hening New Investigator Award (WHNIA) Presentations

11:15am – 11:30am
Patient-reported treatment patterns in Restless Legs Syndrome: Continued reliance on dopamine agonists
Sasikanth Gorantla (United States)

11:30am – 11:45am
Ancestry-specific and multi-ancestry genome-wide association studies of Restless Legs Syndrome
Fulya Akcimen (United States)

11:45am – 12:00pm
Phenotypes and course of Restless Legs Syndrome in acute stroke survivors: A prospective observational cohort study
Aditii Makwana (United States)

12:00pm – 12:15pm
Dopaminergic hypersensitivity of the opioid-responsive striatal-entopeduncular pathway in a rodent model of Restless Legs Syndrome
Marta Valle Leon (Spain)

12:15pm – 1:15pm
Lunch

1:15pm – 2:45pm
Individual Presentations

1:15pm – 1:30pm
Impact of high intensity acute exercise on idiopathic RLS symptoms: Preliminary results from the PEARL Study
Katie Cederberg (United States)

1:30pm – 1:45pm
Heteromerization-mediated control of dopamine D1 receptor function by mu-opioid receptors. Implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome
William N Sanchez (United States)

1:45pm – 2:00pm
Genome-wide association study of Restless Legs Syndrome in Chinese identifies novel loci and enhances cross-population risk prediction
Yanyan Hou (China)

2:00pm – 2:15pm
Epigenetic dysregulation of microRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in RLS: Pathophysiological, clinical, and therapeutic implications
Maria Paola Mogavero (Italy)

2:15pm – 2:30pm
Genetic insights into RLS: Shared variants and co-morbidities
Arthur Walters (United States)

2:30pm – 2:45pm
Antidepressant medication use and periodic limb movements of sleep: Effect modification by genetic risk
Rochelle Zak (United States)

2:45pm – 4:15pm
Clinical Science Symposium: Neurostimulation in RLS

2:45pm – 3:00pm
Remember PD Dr. med. Cornelius G. Bachmann

3:00pm – 3:15pm
Invasive neurostimulation
Mauro Manconi (Switzerland)

3:15pm – 3:30pm
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in RLS: Current evidence and future perspectives
Giuseppe Lanza (Italy)

3:30pm – 4:15pm
Peroneal nerve stimulation

Peroneal nerve stimulation for treating RLS: Including discussion of the long-term THRIVE Study
Mark J Buchfuhrer (United States) | 3:30pm – 3:45pm

Towards extended-release TOMAC: Response to 3-hours of high-frequency peroneal nerve stimulation during sleep
Andrew Spector (United States) | 3:45pm – 4:00pm

Efficacy and temporal trajectory of tonic motor activation in painful and painless Restless Legs: Interim 270-day results from the THRIVE Study
Elias Karroum (USA) | 4:00pm – 4:15pm

4:15pm – 4:45pm
Coffee Break

4:45pm – 5:45pm
Hot Topics in RLS (Afternoon Session)

4:45pm – 5:15pm
Gabapentinoids risk in RLS

Common and uncommon short- and long-term side effects of gabapentinoids
Rosalia Silvestri (Italy) | 4:45pm – 5:00pm

The real risk: Can we manage side effects?
Diego Garcia-Borreguero (Spain) | 5:00pm – 5:15pm

5:15pm – 5:45pm
Iron therapy in RLS

Differences in serum ferritin measurements: Implications for iron therapy in RLS
Michael H Silber (United States) | 5:15pm – 5:30pm

Efficacy and safety of IV iron therapy in RLS patients with normal serum ferritin levels: What is the evidence?
Christopher Earley (United States) | 5:30pm – 5:45pm

5:45pm – 6:15pm
Task Force Updates

6:15pm – 6:45pm
Business Meeting