Guest guest Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 NIH Issues Statement Highlighting Gabapentin's Potential as Effective Treatment for Fibromyalgia Pain, Sleep & Fatigue ProHealth's ImmuneSupport.com - Santa Barbara,CA* ImmuneSupport.com http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/8159 I. Katz, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), remarked in a recent press release that " While gabapentin does not have Food and Drug Administration approval for Fibromyalgia, I believe this study offers additional insight to physicians considering the drug for their Fibromyalgia patients. " Dr. Katz is referring to a NIAMS-sponsored study of the anticonvulsant drug gabapentin (U.S. brand name Neurontin) as a therapy for symptoms of Fibromyalgia, conducted at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and reported online by the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism in March 2007. To see an abstract of the study report – " Gabapentin in the treatment of Fibromyalgia: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial " – go to http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/id/7876 Following is the text of the NIAMS release, with further details and speculation on how gabapentin may work to affect FM pain, sleep, and fatigue. ________________ Gabapentin Shown Effective for Fibromyalgia Pain New research supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) shows that the anticonvulsant medication gabapentin, which is used for certain types of seizures, can be an effective treatment for the pain and other symptoms associated with the common, often hard-to-treat chronic pain disorder, Fibromyalgia. In the NIAMS-sponsored, randomized, double-blind clinical trial of 150 women (90 percent) and men with the condition, Lesley M. Arnold, M.D., director of the Women's Health Research Program at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and her colleagues found that: n Those taking gabapentin at dosages of 1,200 to 2,400 mg daily for 12 weeks displayed significantly less pain than those taking placebo. n Patients taking gabapentin also reported significantly better sleep and less fatigue. n For the majority of participants, the drug was well tolerated. The most common side effects included dizziness and sedation, which were mild to moderate in severity in most cases. NIAMS Director I. Katz. MD, PhD, remarked that " While gabapentin does not have Food and Drug Administration approval for Fibromyalgia, I believe this study offers additional insight to physicians considering the drug for their fibromyalgia patients. Fibromyalgia is a debilitating condition for which current treatments are only modestly effective, so a study such as this is potentially good news for people with this common, painful condition. " Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by chronic, widespread muscle pain and tenderness, and is frequently accompanied by fatigue, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. It affects three million to six million Americans, mostly women, and can be disabling. The precise cause of Fibromyalgia in not known, but research suggests it is related to a problem with the central nervous system's processing of pain. As with some other chronic pain conditions, people with Fibromyalgia often develop a heightened response to stimuli, experiencing pain that would not cause problems in other people. Yet, unlike many other pain syndromes, there is no physical evidence of inflammation or central nervous system damage. Although gabapentin has little, if any, effect on acute pain, it has shown a robust effect on pain caused by a heightened response to stimuli related to inflammation or nerve injury in animal models of chronic pain syndromes. Researchers have suspected that it might have the same effect in people with Fibromyalgia. The new research, published in the April 2007 edition of Arthritis & Rheumatism, indicates the suspicions were correct. Although the researchers cannot say with certainty how gabapentin helps reduce pain, Dr. Arnold says one possible explanation involves the binding of gabapentin to a specific subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels on neurons. " This binding reduces calcium flow into the nerve cell, which reduces the release of some signaling molecules involved in pain processing, " she says. How gabapentin improves sleep and other symptoms is less clear, and there are probably different mechanisms involved in Fibromyalgia symptoms. " Gabapentin improved sleep, which is an added benefit to patients with Fibromyalgia who often report unrefreshing or disrupted sleep, " Dr. Arnold says. What is important is that people with Fibromyalgia now have a potential new treatment option for a condition with few effective treatments. " Studies like this give clinicians evidence-based information to guide their treatment of patients, " says Dr. Arnold. The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, is to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. For more information about NIAMS, call the information clearinghouse at (301) 495-4484 or (877) 22-NIAMS (free call) or visit the NIAMS website at http://www.niams.nih.gov. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 why do they keep theowing muscle relaxers at us? rhey dont help the tention while exposed, I know, I had a prescription/skelaxin while exposed and being misdiagnosed.did nothing for me. why dont they do some nerve biopsys, fibromyalgia is nerve damage. nerve damage is there all the time,it gets aggervated by things like loud noise,contant tappong,ect. and certain exposures. you dont have the spasms all the time, muscle relaxers dont stop the pain of nerve damage. I was given cyclobenzapr, for muscilar/skeletal pain for fibromyalgiaI was given cyclobenzapr,for fibromyalgia, another muscle relaxer. why do they just keep throwing drugs at us without get to the root of things. I'm getting quite a stash of prescribe meds that dont work. I have 2 daughter who sufer " anxity " from their exposure from liveing in my first moldy home. IT'S NERVE DAMAGE, TOXIN CAUSE NERVE DAMAGE!! MUSCLE TENTION AND SPASMS AND NERVE DAMAGE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. muscle tention and/or spasms just maybe is a symptom of nerve damage being aggervated. and here they say men have it, why has some mold experts say men dont get fibromyalgia? but I dont think anyone is immune to nerve damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 That's interesting. My primary doctor has told me she thinks my numbness and tingling problem is coming from injured or inflamed nerves. She did write me a prescription for this, but I'm scared to take it. I tried Lyrica and it was awful for me. I'm hoping the CSM will help out. Thanks for posting, Beth --- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote: > > NIH Issues Statement Highlighting Gabapentin's Potential as > Effective Treatment for Fibromyalgia Pain, Sleep & Fatigue > > ProHealth's ImmuneSupport.com - Santa Barbara,CA* > ImmuneSupport.com > > http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/8159 > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 DUK,LOL'S I DONT KNOW WHAT WAS ON MY MIND. NEURONTIN IS GIVEN TO NEUROSARCOIDOSIS PATIENTS TOO FOR THEIR NERVE PAIN. MINE GETS SO EXTREME SOMETIMES I'D TRY THIS IF I HAD SOME. > > why do they keep theowing muscle relaxers at us? > rhey dont help the tention while exposed, I know, I had a > prescription/skelaxin while exposed and being misdiagnosed.did > nothing for me. > why dont they do some nerve biopsys, fibromyalgia is nerve damage. > nerve damage is there all the time,it gets aggervated by things like > loud noise,contant tappong,ect. and certain exposures. you dont have > the spasms all the time, muscle relaxers dont stop the pain of nerve > damage. > I was given cyclobenzapr, for muscilar/skeletal pain for > fibromyalgiaI was given cyclobenzapr,for fibromyalgia, another muscle > relaxer. > why do they just keep throwing drugs at us without get to the root of > things. > I'm getting quite a stash of prescribe meds that dont work. > I have 2 daughter who sufer " anxity " from their exposure from liveing > in my first moldy home. IT'S NERVE DAMAGE, TOXIN CAUSE NERVE DAMAGE!! > MUSCLE TENTION AND SPASMS AND NERVE DAMAGE ARE NOT THE SAME THING. > muscle tention and/or spasms just maybe is a symptom of nerve damage > being aggervated. > and here they say men have it, why has some mold experts say men dont > get fibromyalgia? > but I dont think anyone is immune to nerve damage. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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