CR INFERENCE SERIES: 3) Restless Leg Syndrome

[quote="EMPOWERgmatMax"]CR INFERENCE SERIES: Question 3) Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome also known as Willis-Ekbom disease is characterized by an irresistible urge to move one’s legs, particularly during sleep. Several widely consumed pharmaceutical agents have been shown to reduce symptoms of restless leg syndrome, but those same agents are also associated with a range of side-effects, many of which are quite common, and some can be quite serious. While offsetting treatments can reduce or even eliminate the side effects associated with pharmaceutical agents designed to treat restless leg syndrome[/color], some form of side effect is unlikely to be prevented.

Text in red: facts/premises
Text in green: conclusion

This argument concludes that some sort of side effects are unlikely (mild and probability word) to be eliminated. The argument states that the medicine to counteract the effects of restless leg syndrome causes side effects that can be serious sometimes. To negate the negative side effects, certain offsetting treatments are used. These offsetting treatments can reduce the severity of even eliminate the side effects of restless leg syndrome medications but some form of side effects still exist.

Points to note here:

1. The argument does not use extreme language in the premises and thus we will be able to eliminate answer choices that use extreme language (all, must, should etc)
2. The argument mentions that even after taking the medications for restless leg syndrome and taking the offsetting medications, it is still likely to see some side effects, we can infer that some side effects still are likely to exist. This is correctly captured by choice C.
3. The argument does not mention any stats or numbers to back up his claim and thus options with extreme number choices (all , none etc) will most likely be incorrect.

The information above most strongly supports which one of the following?


Ⓐ All restless leg syndrome patients taking a pharmaceutical agent should also take an offsetting treatment.
Incorrect. Extreme choice due to 'all'. It is a might be true choice and not a must be true answer. What if the side effects of the RLS medications are serious only for a certain percentage (<100%)? This choice will be weakened in this case. The argument does not provide any facts or numbers to prove this choice.

Ⓑ Side effects suffered by a restless leg syndrome patient can be attributed to a failure to also take an offsetting treatment.
Incorrect. The argument does not mention anything about the causes of the side effects in patients suffering from RLS.

Ⓒ At least some restless leg syndrome patients suffer from side effects as a result of a pharmaceutical agent.
Correct as per the pre thinking above. This is a must be true option as we have been told that there are certain side effects that can be completely removed by the offsetting treatments.

Ⓓ Restless leg syndrome patients who want to avoid side effects from a pharmaceutical agent should take an offsetting treatment.
Incorrect. This is a might be true option as it might be that the offsetting treatments are only for severe are effects
The argument provides no justification for the recommendation mentioned in this option.

Ⓔ Doctors and specialists should refrain from prescribing a pharmaceutical agent to treat restless leg syndrome if that patient could contract a side effect as a result.
Incorrect. Extreme option. The argument says that some of the side effects can be serious and not all of them are. RLS might become a bigger problem if doctors completely stop prescribing pharmaceutical agent to RLS patients.

CR INFERENCE SERIES: Question 3) Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome also known as Willis-Ekbom disease is characterized by an irresistible urge to move one’s legs, particularly during sleep. Several widely consumed pharmaceutical agents have been shown to reduce symptoms of restless leg syndrome, but those same agents are also associated with a range of side-effects, many of which are quite common, and some can be quite serious. While offsetting treatments can reduce or even eliminate the side effects associated with pharmaceutical agents designed to treat restless leg syndrome, some form of side effect is unlikely to be prevented.

The information above most strongly supports which one of the following?


Ⓐ All restless leg syndrome patients taking a pharmaceutical agent should also take an offsetting treatment.

Ⓑ Side effects suffered by a restless leg syndrome patient can be attributed to a failure to also take an offsetting treatment.

Ⓒ At least some restless leg syndrome patients suffer from side effects as a result of a pharmaceutical agent.

Ⓓ Restless leg syndrome patients who want to avoid side effects from a pharmaceutical agent should take an offsetting treatment.

Ⓔ Doctors and specialists should refrain from prescribing a pharmaceutical agent to treat restless leg syndrome if that patient could contract a side effect as a result.


Official Explanation

Question Type: Inference
Boil It Down (Simplified & Abbreviated Summary of the Prompt): RLS agents side effects common -> Offsetting treatment can reduce side effects
Goal: Select the option that has to be 100% logically true from the prompt
Analysis: This is a straightforward Inference question. We need to find an option that follows with 100% certainty. In Inference questions, GMAC can be expected to deliver 2 types of incorrect options:

1) Those that are too extreme to be supported from the facts given
2) Options that seem reasonable, but are not supported from the facts given

Ⓐ All restless leg syndrome patients taking a pharmaceutical agent should also take an offsetting treatment.
“Should” options are usually questionable in Inference questions because it’s hard for a recommended course of action to be irrefutable, and here we see that issue with a “should” option in vivid color. From the prompt, there is no basis to dictate absolute policy that an offsetting treatment should be made mandatory. Perhaps medical professionals would want to take a look at the offsetting agent option on a case-by-case basis. Since we can’t say that ALL restless leg patients taking an agent should also take an offsetting treatment, this option is gone. It’s too extreme, and not supported to the standard an Inference question requires.

Ⓑ Side effects suffered by a restless leg syndrome patient can be attributed to a failure to also take an offsetting treatment.
Factually contradicted. We know that even with an offsetting treatment that side effects can still occur, so there is absolutely no way to say that RLS side effects can be attributed to a failure to also take an offsetting treatment. This option is gone too.

Ⓒ At least some restless leg syndrome patients suffer from side effects as a result of a pharmaceutical agent.
Guaranteed! We know that RLS patients taking a pharmaceutical agent suffer from side effects that ARE QUITE COMON, so we therefore know for a fact that at least some RLS patients suffer from side effects as a result of a pharmaceutical agent. This option is 100% logically supported by the facts in the prompt, and is therefore our winner.

Ⓓ Restless leg syndrome patients who want to avoid side effects from a pharmaceutical agent should take an offsetting treatment.
Just like option A, this option ventures into wildly dangerous terrain in making a recommendation as to what “should” happen. From the prompt, there is just no way to make the claim that if RLS patients wants to avoid side effects from a pharmaceutical agent that they should take an offsetting treatment. What if an RLS patient were likely to react from side effects from the offsetting agent? Should that RLS patient take an offsetting treatment? No way. Although this option might seem very reasonable at a glance, we can’t say that it must be true. This is also a fantastic example of type 2) Options that seem reasonable, but are not supported from the facts given.

Ⓔ Doctors and specialists should refrain from prescribing a pharmaceutical agent to treat restless leg syndrome if that patient could contract a side effect as a result.
Joining A, and D, E also ventures into unsupported “should” territory, and just like those options is not supported with certainty. In fact E is unlikely to have to be true since we’re told that side effects from RLS pharmaceutical agents are quite common. Perhaps the presence of a side effect from the agent is a measured risk that many are willing to accept. We can get rid of this option too.

◀ CR INFERENCE SERIES: Question 2) Per Unit, Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

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