Fibromyalgia syndrome: novel therapeutic targets

Abstract

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain and tenderness, accompanied by disturbed sleep, chronic fatigue and multiple additional functional symptoms. FMS continues to pose an unmet need regarding pharmacological treatment and many patients fail to achieve sufficient relief from existing treatments. As FMS is considered to be a condition in which pain amplification occurs within the CNS, therapeutic interventions, both pharmacological and otherwise, have revolved around attempts to influence pain processing in the CNS. In the current review, we present an update on novel targets in the search for effective treatment of FMS.

Keywords: 5-HT3 receptor antagonists; NMDA inhibitors; cannabinoid treatment; dopamin agonists; fibromyalgia; glutamate antagonist; growth hormone; opioid antagonism; reuptake inhibitiors; α2δ ligands.