Narcolepsy Drug Treats Fibromyalgia Pain

Patients with fibromyalgia treated with the narcolepsy drug sodium oxybate had significant improvements in pain and sleep ability, according to a study reported in Medpage Today.

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The study, published in the July issue of Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, found that 51 percent of fibromyalgia patients receiving 6 g of sodium oxybate each night experienced at least a 30 percent decrease in pain, compared with 27 percent of patients receiving a placebo.  

Greater improvements in sleep quality were also observed. Measured on the Jenkins sleep scale, patients taking sodium oxybate experienced a median change of −5 versus a −1 change in the placebo group.

“The results from this study, demonstrating the association of sleep quality restoration with the multidimensional improvements in fibromyalgia symptoms, are consistent with the long-held notion that nonrestorative sleep may play a role in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia,” researchers wrote.

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