Analysis shows pain reduction for fibromyalgia patients using Lyrica

CHICAGO A pooled analysis presented at the annual Academy of Neurology meeting reports that Pfizer’s Lyrica reduced pain in patients with fibromyalgia, whether or not they experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression.

The results were determined by analysis of data from three clinical trials that used a placebo as a control ranging from eight weeks, to 13 weeks and finally 14 weeks in more than 2,000 patients that had fibromyalgia. According to published reports, they also studied different dosages given to patients and where asked to measure their pain from a scale of zero to 10. The analysis confirmed that pain reduction was the greatest change in patients who used the drug regardless of whether they still had feelings of depression or anxiety.

According to published reports, Fibromyalgia is the most common, chronic pain condition in the United States, and patients who have it usually experience symptoms of poor sleep, stiffness and fatigue.

According to Dr. Lesly Arnold, one the authors of the study and associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, “The data showed that Lyrica reduced fibromyalgia pain, and alleviating that pain was associated with patients’ overall feeling of well-being. Understandably, many patients with a chronic pain condition, such as fibromyalgia, also experience depression and anxiety, and importantly we found that Lyrica helped reduce pain in patients regardless of the presence of symptoms of these co-morbid conditions.”