Posted on April 22, 2009 in Latest News
Here’s good news for all the people troubled with fibromyalgia symptoms. According to researchers at Stanford University a cost effective drug called as naltrexone proves to be good treatment for fibromyalgia. Naltrexone is not new in pharma industry and is been for more than 30 years basically used for treating opioid addiction.
Sean Mackey, MD, PhD and Jarred Younger, PhD of Stanford University, tested low dose of Naltrexone on 10 women suffering from fibromyalgia for more than 10 years. In the initial 2 weeks the women were asked to record the severity of fibromyalgia symptoms while using a handheld computer. Then they were asked to take a lab test so as to measure the pain and sensitivity towards cold and heat.
For next 2 weeks, women were administered on a placebo pill every day. At the end of 2 weeks they were asked to take 1 Naltrexone pill every day for nest 8 weeks. In the last 2 weeks of the research study they didn’t took any medicine, neither placebo nor Naltrexone. During the whole duration of the research study, women continued to record the severity of their fibromyalgia symptoms daily.
The findings of the research study are listed below:
- As compared to the rating before the commencement of the research study there was a drop of 2.3% in the severity of the fibromyalgia symptoms while taking placebo.
- An additional 30% drop in the severity of the fibromyalgia symptoms was observed when they were switched to Naltrexone.
- The tolerance level of pain and towards hot temperatures also increased while taking Naltrexone.
- Out of 10, 6 women responded well to Naltrexone and the side effects were mild and for a brief time.
The preliminary research study was published online in Pain Medicine. Mackey and Younger are now working on new research study to test low-dose Naltrexone for 16 weeks on 30 fibromyalgia patients.
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