Pregabalin is effective in reducing fibromyalgia pain.

Abstract

Commentary on: Derry S, Cording M, Wiffen PJ, et al. Pregabalin for pain in fibromyalgia in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;9:CD011790. Anticonvulsants have been widely used in pain management for more than 50 years. Published neuropathic pain treatment guidelines have suggested their use, especially for neuropathic pain.1 The review by Derry et al focuses on the use of one such agent, pregabalin, in the treatment of fibromyalgia, an accepted and validated but heterogeneous condition in which diagnosis is made through history, physical examination and the exclusion of other diseases explaining the key symptoms. This was a systematic review of randomised, double-blind trials lasting 8 weeks or longer comparing either pregabalin to placebo or an active treatment for the treatment of pain in fibromyalgia. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE and EMBASE were search for randomised controlled trials from inception to 16 March 2016 for this update. Reference lists of retrieved studies and reviews were also searched, and online clinical trial registries. Eight studies were included in this review and …