Effects of Milnacipran on Widespread Mechanical and Thermal Hyperalgesia of Fibromyalgia Patients
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-04-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) shares many symptoms common to chronic neuropathic pain, including
the characteristic hyperalgesia of the skin (thermal, mechanical) and muscles (mechanical)
found in almost all FM patients. Milnacipran, a balance norepinephrine-serotonin re-uptake
inhibitor, has been found to reduce pain and improve physical function of FM patients.
However, little is known about the pain mechanisms that are affected by this medication.
Therefore, the investigator wants to determine the efficacy of milnacipran in reducing pain
as well as mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia of FM patients during a randomized,
double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Because the investigator expects anti-hyperalgesic
effects to coincide or precede with effects on clinical FM pain the proposed duration for
this trial is 6 weeks.