Scandinavian journal of rheumatology. Supplement
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. Suppl. · Jan 2004
Intravenous treatment of fibromyalgia with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron in a rheumatological practice.
In 223 fibromyalgia (FM) patients in a rheumatology practice, a follow-up postal survey was carried out 0.5-2 years after a 5-day intravenous (i.v.) treatment with 5 mg of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron daily on the effect of this treatment. 121 patients returned the completed questionnaire. After subtraction of 22 undeliverable questionnaires, this represented 60.2% of patients contacted for whom an assessment of the tropisetron treatment was possible. A good to very good effect of the treatment on the pain was reported by 45% of the patients, and only 25% reported an unsatisfactory effect. ⋯ In comparison with the current treatment and the best treatment with other drugs ever received, tropisetron was rated as more efficacious in almost half of the cases, though an unsatisfactory effect of tropisetron compared to other treatments was reported in 30% of the cases. Considered in comparison to less or at most equally efficacious alternatives, according to this open respective study, IV tropisetron treatment represents a promising option for the treatment of FM even though the study design incorporated many imponderables. Particularly the question of whether the success of treatment can be improved further with a longer lasting treatment or a selection of the patients still needs to be settled.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. Suppl. · Jan 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialIntra-articular treatment of arthritides and activated osteoarthritis with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron. A double-blind study compared with methylprednisolone.
Since the good effect of intra-articular injections of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron in patients with arthritides and activated osteoarthritis has already been demonstrated in pilot studies, the effect of tropisetron is compared with that of methylprednisolone here. ⋯ According to the results presented here, the intra-articular treatment with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron in patients with gonarthritides and activated arthroses was about equally effective as those for treatment with corticosteroids. Therefore, it can be used as an alternative in patients for whom concomitant diseases like diabetes and hypertension make it difficult to use corticosteroids. Whether increasing the tropisetron dose may further improve the results remains to be determined in future studies.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. Suppl. · Jan 2004
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialThe influence of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron on pain in fibromyalgia: a functional magnetic resonance imaging pilot study.
Central pain processing is altered in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The serotonin metabolism, especially the 5-HT3 receptor, seems to play an important role. ⋯ Both the sensory-discriminative and motivational-affective components of pain as measured by fMRI were altered by tropisetron.
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. Suppl. · Jan 2004
Clinical TrialTreatment of chronic low back pain with tropisetron.
Various pathophysiological processes can lead to chronic back pain, which necessitates a differentiated therapeutic approach. In addition, psychic and psychosocial processes may influence the clinical picture. ⋯ A marked improvement in pain could be achieved in an open study by treating back pain of a primarily somatic nature with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist tropisetron. A reduction in pain of > or =50% was reported by 76% of the patients. These results should be substantiated by the corresponding randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind studies that are needed to investigate the true benefit of treating back pain with 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.