While no clinical trial to date has specifically targeted fatigue , r and omized controlled trials , systematic review s , and meta-analyses indicate that treatment modalities studied in the context of other fibromyalgia symptoms could also improve fatigue .
Fatigue is a disabling , multifaceted symptom that is highly prevalent and stubbornly persistent .
Although fatigue is a frequent complaint among patients with fibromyalgia , it has not received the same attention as pain .
Reasons for this include lack of st and ardized nomenclature to communicate about fatigue , lack of evidence -based guidelines for fatigue assessment , and a deficiency in effective treatment strategies .
Fatigue does not occur in isolation ; rather , it is present concurrently in varying severity with other fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic widespread pain , unrefreshing sleep , anxiety , depression , cognitive difficulties , and so on .
Survey-based and preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that multiple symptoms feed into fatigue and it may be associated with a variety of physiological mechanisms .
Fibromyalgia treatment with intravenous tropisetron administration.
A prospect i ve , r and omized , placebo-controlled , multicenter , double-blind trial in fibromyalgia patients demonstrated that peroral daily treatment with 5 mg tropisetron for 10 days produced a significant reduction in pain and other symptoms . The aim of the present study was to determine whether intravenous administration of 2 mg tropisetron daily for a limited period of time would produce quicker and more favorable results . In the first cohort 18 fibromyalgia patients received a single intravenous injection of 2 mg tropisetron .  In the second cohort 24 fibromyalgia patients were treated with 2 mg intravenous tropisetron daily for 5 days . Pain intensity was measured with the visual analog scale and the pain score . Pain at tender and control points ( dolorimeter ) as well as 17 ancillary symptoms before and after treatment were evaluated . Pain intensity was followed-up by means of a patient diary until recurrence . Dolorimetry revealed that a single intravenous injection of 2 mg tropisetron significantly reduced pain and enhanced pain threshold . These effects , however , lasted for only a few days . Of 18 patients in the first cohort , only three showed no response to therapy . Of the 24 patients in the second cohort , 23 showed pain reduction when 2 mg tropisetron was administered daily for 5 days . Pain relief lasted for 2 weeks to 2 months in 20 of these patients . Two patients stopped filling in the pain diary . Twelve ancillary symptoms such as sleep disturbances , fatigue , morning stiffness were also significantly improved by the latter treatment . In the global assessment 16 out of 24 patients showed significant improvement and seven showed slight improvement . Only one patient experienced no improvement . Tolerability was good . In conclusion , intravenous injection of 2 mg of the 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor antagonist tropisetron once daily for 5 days produced a longer-lasting therapeutic effect on fibromyalgia symptoms than did peroral daily treatment with 5 mg of this drug . The results achieved are currently being evaluated in a r and omized , placebo-controlled , double-blind trial
While no clinical trial to date has specifically targeted fatigue , r and omized controlled trials , systematic review s , and meta-analyses indicate that treatment modalities studied in the context of other fibromyalgia symptoms could also improve fatigue .
Fatigue is a disabling , multifaceted symptom that is highly prevalent and stubbornly persistent .
Although fatigue is a frequent complaint among patients with fibromyalgia , it has not received the same attention as pain .
Reasons for this include lack of st and ardized nomenclature to communicate about fatigue , lack of evidence -based guidelines for fatigue assessment , and a deficiency in effective treatment strategies .
Fatigue does not occur in isolation ; rather , it is present concurrently in varying severity with other fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic widespread pain , unrefreshing sleep , anxiety , depression , cognitive difficulties , and so on .
Survey-based and preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that multiple symptoms feed into fatigue and it may be associated with a variety of physiological mechanisms .