Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects many people. General population prevalence surveys usually range from 1% to 12%, but most European ancestry studies suggest 10%. The development of validated rating scales and standardized diagnostic criteria have vastly improved the quality of RLS treatment trials. Although multiple medications have shown outstanding efficacy, all of them are felt to provide only symptomatic relief, rather than any “curative” effect. Dopamine agonists are clearly the best investigated and probably the most effective treatments for RLS.