NCT01154647

Pain Inhibition in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Central Sensitivity Syndromes

Unraveling Impaired Pain Inhibition in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Central Sensitivity Syndromes: a Series of Experiments Targeting Brain Neurotransmission

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 70 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Vrije Universiteit Brussel · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Both patients with peripheral structural pathologies, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-patients, or patients with central sensitivity syndromes (CSS) suffer chronic pain. CSS are characterized by an increased responsiveness of central pain neurons. An impaired endogenous pain inhibition is already demonstrated in CSS. In the present study the investigators want to evaluate the efficacy of pain inhibition in response to physical stressors and whether the efficacy is opioid-mediated in two chronic pain populations (RA \& CCS) compared to controls. Therefore a triple-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) with cross-over design will be performed. The efficacy of wind-up of pain and spatial summation of pain is evaluated before and after a submaximal exercise, while the experimental group receives a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Participants are 20 RA-patients and 20 CSS-patients, more specific patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and 30 healthy controls. This way, the investigators analyze how pain inhibition reacts on different types of physical stressors in different pain patients and if pain inhibition is opioid-mediated.

Conditions

• Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic
• Fibromyalgia
• Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	citalopram	intravenous
DRUG	1 ml 0.9 % NaCl	intravenous

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-09-01
• Primary completion: 2012-09-01
• First posted: 2010-07-01
• Last updated: 2010-07-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Belgium