Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Savella for Fibromyalgia: What the Research Shows
A study reported in The Journal of Rheumatology (volume 35, page 398) reveals that the dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor milnacipran (Savella) is a safe and effective treatment for fibromyalgia. Savella was approved in 2009 for use in fibromyalgia.
The trial randomized 888 patients with fibromyalgia to receive 100 mg per day of milnacipran, 200 mg per day of milnacipran, or placebo. Acetaminophen and NSAIDs such as aspirin were the only pain medications allowed during the study.
After 15 and 27 weeks of fibromyalgia treatment, significantly more participants in the medication groups than in the placebo group achieved three treatment goals: a 30% reduction in pain, saying that they were "very much" or "much" improved, and an improvement in physical functioning. Fatigue, which is common in people with fibromyalgia, also improved in people getting the medication for fibromyalgia.
About 42% of the participants discontinued treatment; people assigned to placebo quit most often because they did not get symptom relief, while those taking milnacipran tended to quit because of difficulties with nausea or palpitations. Nausea occurred in 33 to 40% of people taking milnacipran.
If you have fibromyalgia that hasn't responded to other therapies, ask your doctor if you might be a candidate for a dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
Posted in Arthritis on August 30, 2010
Reviewed January 2011
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