Treatment of Fibromyalgia with Tropisetron, a 5HT 3 Serotonin Antagonist: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In this pilot study we investigated 10 women suffering from primary fibromyalgia. All patients received 5 mg of tropisetron in the evening, for a period of 4 weeks. Clinical disease variables included the measurement of a pain score, fatigue, sleep disturbances and measurement of the number of tender points. Five of our patients (50%) showed a statistical clinical improvement of all the above parameters starting after the first week of treatment. Two patients did not respond to the therapy and three discontinued the study because of side-effects. We conclude that administration of tropisetron in fibromyalgia patients could be useful in the management of this difficult and incurable syndrome.

Psychophysiological responses in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

“…The lowered muscular tension observed in this study may be therapeutically relevant as it may explain the limited effectiveness of muscle relaxants [18,50] in contrast to antidepressant medication, 5HT3 antagonists [51,52], and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [53]. In FMS, the hypomuscular response observed may require specific interventions.…”

Are psychological treatments effective for fibromyalgia pain?

“…A meta-analysis of nine studies on the effi cacy of tricyclic antidepressant medication showed the most signifi cant effect on quality of sleep, little therapeutic effect on stiffness, and the least effect for sensitivity to pressure. Thirty percent of patients were responders (> 50% improvement of symptoms) [2], and recent studies have demonstrated a similar responder rate of 30% to 50% for serotonin receptor antagonists [3,4].…”

In vitro inhibition of recombinant ligand-gated ion channels by high concentrations of milnacipran

“…It has been suggested that LGIC receptors, such as 5-HT 3A receptors (Fan 1994;Papadopoulos et al 2000), NMDA receptors (Hewitt 2003;Petrenko et al 2003) and Fig. 2 Effect of milnacipran on concentration-inhibition curves agonist-induced currents.…”