The Arthritis Foundation recently came out with its list of the top 10 arthritis events for the year 2007. This series will focus on those events.

#7: Approval of Lyrica for treatment of fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a disorder which results in chronic widespread pain along with debilitating fatigue, abnormal sleep patterns, bowel disturbances and cognitive dysfunction. The cause of fibromyalgia is not known, but altered function of the central nervous system is thought to be a possible cause. Genetic disposition is also a possible cause.

Until 2007, all medications prescribed for the treatment of fibromyalgia were “off-label”, that is, they were not specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating fibromyalgia, but were approved for treatment of other conditions.

One such medication is pregabalin (Lyrica), originally developed for treating neuropathic pain. In 2007 the FDA approved pregabalin for treatment of fibromyalgia based of studies that showed it improved sleep and reduced pain.

The exact mechanism is not known, but it is believed that pregabalin may alter the release of chemicals used by nerves to communicate with each other.