FDA Approves Depression Drug for Musculoskeletal Pain

(NIH)

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its drug Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) for the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain.  FDA already approved Cymbalta to treat major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, and to manage diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.

The company says Cymbalta’s efficacy has been established in studies in patients with chronic low back pain and chronic pain due to osteoarthritis. It is a non-narcotic pain reliever that is meant to be taken once a day, every day by people with these pain conditions.

While its exact means of working on chronic musculoskeletal pain is unknown, Cymbalta is believed to help lessen pain by increasing the activity of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain and spinal cord, thus enhancing the body’s natural pain suppressing system.

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