A double blind crossover study of gabapentin to treat restless legs syndrome found that it improves both sensory and motor symptoms. In this short study it also seemed to improve sleep and reduce periodic leg movements during sleep and to be well tolerated. Traditional drug treatments for restless legs syndrome come with a plethora of undesirable side effects, so gabapentin may prove to be a great step forward (Neurology 2002;59:1573-9)

Should cataract surgery be performed in people who also have age related macular degeneration? A Swedish multicentre study found that after surgery such patients reported significant improvements in their daily life activities and increased satisfaction with their eyesight. Some studies have supported the hypothesis that cataract extraction may make macular degeneration worse, but this study didn't address that (British Journal of Ophthalmology 2002;86:1330-5)

Minerva was under the impression that it's poor pay that causes nurses to leave the profession, but an American survey suggests it's doctors behaving badly. More than a third of people interviewed reported that they knew of a nurse leaving an institution because of disruptive behaviour by physicians, and 90% said they'd witnessed such behaviour. …