Philadelphia, PA, October 14, 2010 — Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating condition affecting 11 million individuals in the US alone. FM carries an annual direct cost for care of more than $20 billion and drug therapies are generally only …
A drug called pregabalin has been shown to be an effective and safe treatment for pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to study data being presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. The drug, Pregabalin, also was shown to improve sleep and fatigue levels, the data demonstrate. Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain that is frequently associated with fatigue and sleep disturbances. It is estimated to affect two percent of the population, or 5.6 million Americans, and occurs most frequently in women.
Patients with lower back pain that can’t be traced to a specific physical cause may have abnormal pain-processing pathways in their brains, according to a new study led by Michigan researchers. The effect, which as yet has no explanation, is similar to an altered pain perception effect in fibromyalgia patients recently reported by the same research team.