CLINICAL (symposium session): Australasian Sleep Association position statement on the treatment of restless legs syndrome
Tracks
Track 1
| Saturday, November 14, 2026 |
| 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM |
Details
Members of the Australasian Sleep Association Position Statement group into the Treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome will present the methodology and findings of their Systematic Review, Meta Analyses and GRADE recommendations work and how that aligns with the recently released International guidelines. We will also have a panel discussion of a practical approach to case management of both adult and pediatric RLS management in Australia & New Zealand.
Speaker
Dr James Di Michiel
Respiratory And Sleep Physician
Canterbury Hospital / Woolcock Insitute of Medical Research
The ASA position statement on the treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome
11:00 AM - 11:20 AMBiography
James is a Respiratory and Sleep Physican at Canterbury and Griffith Base Hospitals, and at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
Dr Raffaele Ferri
Scientific Director
OASI Research Institute
Periodic limb movements in RLS: from neurophysiology to clinical significance
11:20 AM - 11:40 AMBiography
Dr. Raffaele Ferri graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome in 1981 and specialized in Neurology at the same institution in 1985. He is Scientific Director of the Oasi Research Institute-IRCCS in Troina (Italy) and has been involved in sleep medicine for several decades.
His research focuses on sleep medicine across the lifespan, from childhood to adulthood, with particular emphasis on the pathophysiology, clinical characterization, and longitudinal evolution of sleep-related movement disorders, REM sleep behavior disorder, and narcolepsy.
Dr. Ferri is currently Past-President of the World Sleep Society and previously served as President of the Italian Sleep Medicine Association (AIMS) from 2015 to 2018. His past leadership roles include Scientific Secretary-Treasurer and Counselor of the Italian Society of Psychophysiology, Secretary of the Federation of the European Psychophysiology Societies, and Counselor of AIMS.
He has served as Member-at-Large and Vice-President of the European Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group and as Member-at-Large of the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. Dr. Ferri is Associate Editor of Sleep and the International Journal of Psychophysiology, and has served or currently serves on the Editorial Boards of numerous international scientific journals, including the most important journals in the field of Sleep Medicine.
In 2024 he received the Italian Knowledge Leaders Award.
Dr Brad Martin
Staff Specialist
Sydney Children's Hospital
Panel discussion
11:40 AM - 12:30 PMBiography
Dr Brad Martin is a Staff Specialist in Sleep Medicine at Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and a Conjoint Lecturer at the University of New South Wales. He also consults in a number of paediatric practices in Sydney and Wollongong. Dr Martin graduated with first class honours from the University of Sydney and later completed a Master of Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology) degree there. He completed his Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Medicine training through Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Dr James Di Michiel
Respiratory And Sleep Physician
Canterbury Hospital / Woolcock Insitute of Medical Research
Panel discussion
11:40 AM - 12:30 PMBiography
James is a Respiratory and Sleep Physican at Canterbury and Griffith Base Hospitals, and at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
Prof Brendon Yee
Clinical Professor; Senior Staff Specialist — Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital/Woolcock Insitute of Medical Research
Chair
Biography
Prof Nathaniel Marshall
Research Leader And Professor
Woolcock University / Macquarie University
Chair
Biography