Cough suppressant may ease fibromyalgia pain - PakTribune

News re fibromyalgia treatments Cough suppressant may ease fibromyalgia pain - PakTribune: "A medication normally used to quiet a stubborn cough may also help ease the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, a small study suggests.

Researchers found that the cough suppressant, dextromethorphan, temporarily diminished pain perception in both fibromyalgia patients and healthy adults. The benefit appears to stem from the fact that dextromethorphan blocks the action of a chemical messenger known as NMDA, which helps relay pain signals to the brain.....

Fibromyalgia is a disorder marked by widespread muscle pain and tenderness, fatigue and sleep problems. To be diagnosed with the condition, a person must have pain or tenderness in a number of specific "tender points" on the body.

The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but researchers generally believe that people with the condition have "amplified" pain signals due to abnormal sensory processing in the central nervous system.

One theory has held that fibromyalgia "wind-up" pain -- in which repeated touches create pain that intensifies with each new contact -- is caused by an abnormality in the spinal cord structures that process NMDA.

But in the new study, dextromethorphan was as effective at easing pain in the 14 women with fibromyalgia as it was for 10 women without the condition.

Since dextromethorphan acts on NMDA receptors, the findings suggest that people with fibromyalgia do not have a "radically altered" NMDA system, according to Staud’s team."

fibromyalgia symptoms treatment with a single dose of dextromethorphan, however, reduced the women’s pain response to the tests -- with women with fibromyalgia benefiting as much as those without the condition.

According to Staud, dextromethorphan could eventually find a place in the repertoire of treatments for chronic pain.

"What this really means for chronic pain patients is that they need to use a whole host of different interventions to decrease the pain they have," he said. "And in this, dextromethorphan may have a role in the future."