Parkinson's drug could be helpful in fibromyalgia

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A clinical trial suggests that pramipexole could be useful in treating fibromyalgia.
Many of the existing treatments for the painful condition fibromyalgia have only limited success. Now a team at Pacific Rheumatology Associates, Renton, Washington, report that the drug pramipexole helps relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Pramipexole, which is used also to treat Parkinson's disease, increases the amount of dopamine in the brain.

In the study, 60 patients received either pramipexole or placebo for 14 weeks. Nearly half of those on active drug experienced a 50 per cent or more reduction in pain and 82 per cent got some benefit. Moreover, the hallucinations and sleep attacks that are side effects of pramipexole in Parkinson's disease did not seem to affect this group. More studies are needed, but this work looks very promising.

Source
Arthritis & Rheumatism August 2005 Volume 52 pages 2495-2505

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