Posted by MERM on 5/18/2009, 11:32 am
Low Doses of Drug for Alcoholics Helps Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain
Taking low doses of a drug commonly given to alcoholics and drug addicts reduces pain and fatigue in some people battling the chronic-pain condition fibromyalgia, Stanford University researchers say.
In preliminary research, the drug, naltrexone, reduced the pain and fatigue in fibromyalgia patients by an average of 30 percent, researchers said.
The findings are an encouraging development for millions of Americans who suffer from fibromyalgia, a somewhat mysterious disorder for which there is no reliable cure or treatment.
However, larger and more detailed studies are needed before naltrexone can be recommended for treating fibromyalgia, researchers said.
Study Finds Benefits for Fibromyalgia Sufferers
The Stanford University study focused on 10 fibromyalgia patients. Some of the patients received low doses of the drug at bedtime while some were given placebos.
Those taking naltrexone reported significant drops in daily pain, highest pain, stress, fatigue, and improved pain thresholds, according to the study.
On average, patients given naltrexone had their fibromyalgia symptoms reduced by 32.5 percent, compared to improvement of 2.3 percent in patients given placebo treatments.
Few Side Effects, Relatively Inexpensive
Naltrexone treatments resulted in few side effects, although some participants reported experiencing vivid dreams after taking the drug.
Researchers are excited about the prospects of naltrexone as a fibromyalgia treatment because there currently are few treatment options for such patients and the drug is relatively inexpensive, costing about $40 a month.
A second, longer-term study of the effects of naltrexone on fibromyalgia symptoms and including 30 patients tested over a period of four months is set to begin soon, Stanford researchers said.postedbymermwellnesstrainresearchdirector
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