Study: Fibromyalgia patients taking pregabalin see improvement in sleep, daily pain

Fibromyalgia patients taking pregabalin had significant improvements in sleep and decreased daily pain, according to a new study.

Published in the April 2012 issue of Arthritis Care & Research, the study was led by Thomas Roth, PhD, of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center, the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Mich.

Researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study using polysomonographic (PSG) measures of sleep. Fibromyalgia patients taking 300 mg to 450 mg of pregabalin per day showed a reduction in PSG-determined wake versus sleep onset of -19.2 minutes versus placebo at -26.7 minutes. Patients’ pain score also improved with pregabalin by -.52.

The researchers also found modest but significant correlations between PSG sleep assessments and pain and sleep quality. “Patients with fibromyalgia treated with pregabalin had statistically significant and meaningful improvements in sleep,” Roth wrote in the study.

In addition, pregabalin was generally well tolerated, although 30.4% of patients taking pregabalin reported dizziness, 20.5% experienced somnolence, and 8.9% of fibromyalgia patients had headaches with pregabalin.