The antidepressant drug Cymbalta can help relieve pain in patients undergoing chemotherapy, according to a new study reported in Medical Daily.
Researchers in the study analyzed records of 231 patients who reported experiencing pain during chemotherapy. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups in the five-week study: one received Cymbalta while the other received a placebo. After five weeks of treatment, 59 percent of patients taking Cymbalta reported reduced pain, compared to 39 percent of patients taking the placebo.
"The drug doesn't work in everyone," said study author Ellen M. Lavoie Smith. "The good news is it worked in the majority of patients. We need to figure out who are the responders. If we can predict who they are, we can target the treatment to the people it's going to work for."
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Researchers in the study analyzed records of 231 patients who reported experiencing pain during chemotherapy. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups in the five-week study: one received Cymbalta while the other received a placebo. After five weeks of treatment, 59 percent of patients taking Cymbalta reported reduced pain, compared to 39 percent of patients taking the placebo.
"The drug doesn't work in everyone," said study author Ellen M. Lavoie Smith. "The good news is it worked in the majority of patients. We need to figure out who are the responders. If we can predict who they are, we can target the treatment to the people it's going to work for."
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