Narcolepsy Drug May Hold Hope for Fibromyalgia Patients
A clinical study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland found that the drug sodium oxybate, currently used to treat cataplexy in narcolepsy patients, was effective in both improving sleep and reducing pain perception for FM patients.
Study Criteria According to a press release issued by the University, Dr. I. Jon Russell, associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the study’s lead researcher, along with his colleagues Drs. Robert M. Bennett in Portland and Joel E. Michalek in San Antonio, conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center clinical trial. The centers randomized 188 fibromyalgia syndrome patients to receive active treatment with one of two doses of sodium oxybate or with a placebo. One active treatment group took 4.5 grams of sodium oxybate per night, while a second group took 6 grams per night. The sodium oxybate was administered at night in two oral doses. The trial lasted eight weeks.
Before they began to take the study medication, all of the study participants were withdrawn from other medications used to treat their fibromyalgia symptoms. Of the 147 patients who completed the trial, 51 took 4.5 grams per day, 44 took 6 grams per day and 52 took a placebo.
Study Results “We saw significant clinical benefit with both doses of sodium oxybate compared with placebo,” Dr. Russell stated in the press release. “The patients’ self-reported pain and their perceptions of how well they slept improved among both dosage groups. The tenderness found during in-office examinations was significantly improved with the 6 gram dose.”
Disclosure Sodium oxybate is marked in the U.S. as Xyrem and is produced by Orphan Medical, a subsidiary of Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which funded the study. Because no medication is currently FDA approved for treating fibromyalgia, physicians must treat the disorder with medications officially approved for other purposes. It is up to every physician to determine whether Xyrem, or any other medication, is appropriate for each individual patient.
As with any new drug or new use for a current drug, additional studies will need to be done. But when promising results are reported for any new treatment option, it helps keep hope alive for the millions of us living with fibromyalgia.
