Objective. To assess the efficacy and safety of pramipexole, a dopamine 3 receptor agonist, in patients with fibromyalgia.Methods. In this 14-week, single-center, doubleblind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, escalatingdose trial, 60 patients with fibromyalgia were randomized 2:1 (pramipexole:placebo) to receive 4.5 mg of pramipexole or placebo orally every evening. The primary outcome was improvement in the pain score (10-cm visual analog scale [VAS]) at 14 weeks. Secondary outcome measures were the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ), the pain improvement scale, the tender point score, the 17-question Hamilton Depression Inventory (HAM-d), and the Beck Anxiety Index (BAI). Patients with comorbidities and disability were not excluded. Stable dosages of concomitant medications, including analgesics, were allowed.Results. Compared with the placebo group, patients receiving pramipexole experienced gradual and more significant improvement in measures of pain, fatigue, function, and global status. At 14 weeks, the VAS pain score decreased 36% in the pramipexole arm and 9% in the placebo arm (treatment difference -1.77 cm). Forty-two percent of patients receiving pramipexole and 14% of those receiving placebo achieved >50% decrease in pain. Secondary outcomes favoring pramipexole over placebo included the total FIQ score (treatment difference -9.57) and the percentages of improvement in function (22% versus 0%), fatigue (29% versus 7%), and global (38% versus 3%) scores on the MDHAQ. Compared with baseline, some outcomes showed a better trend for pramipexole treatment than for placebo, but failed to reach statistical significance, including improvement in the tender point score (51% versus 36%) and decreases in the MDHAQ psychiatric score (37% versus 28%), the BAI score (39% versus 27%), and the HAM-d score (29% versus 9%). No end points showed a better trend for the placebo arm. The most common adverse events associated with pramipexole were transient anxiety and weight loss. No patient withdrew from the study because of inefficacy or an adverse event related to pramipexole.Conclusion. In a subset of patients with fibromyalgia, ϳ50% of whom required narcotic analgesia and/or were disabled, treatment with pramipexole improved scores on assessments of pain, fatigue, function, and global status, and was safe and well-tolerated.Abnormal autonomic arousal (1-4), altered sleep stage architecture (5), chronic pain, and fatigue characterize fibromyalgia syndrome. The pathogenesis of fibromyalgia is a matter of debate, but centrally mediated abnormalities of sensory processing play an important role (6). Clinicians have tried various pharmacotherapies, including such agents as antidepressants, antiepileptics, muscle relaxants, antiinflammatories, sedative hypnotics, analgesics, and nutriceuticals (7). As a central neurotransmitter, dopamine influences human behavior, autonomic arousal, and sleep (8). Discovery of dopamine receptor subtypes (D 1-5 ) and thei...

These results confirm that clinically significant responses to zolpidem among individuals with disorders of consciousness do occur in a minority of patients and can be replicated. Failure to find a trend toward improved performance on zolpidem among nonresponders suggests a bimodal rather than a graded response to the drug. The fact that only one drug responder was identified in this small study prevents assessment of features characteristic of drug responders.