Is the FDA correct in approving drugs to treat fibromyalgia?
I can’t help but wonder why the Federal Drug Administration is so anxious to approve a drug whose risks outweighs its benefits. Is it because of the influence of special interest groups? The target audience for the new drug is middle aged women. The disease is fibromyalgia, although whether or not it is a disease is still being debated. The symptoms of fibromyalgia are chronic, widespread pain. The origin of the pain is unknown. Advocates and doctors who treat fibromyalgia estimate that between 2 and 4 percent of American adults suffer from it.
There are many, including the person who first discovered fibromyalgia, who do not believe there is such a disease. They argue that vague complaints do not make a disease. There are no biological tests to diagnose fibromyalgia and it can’t be linked to environmental or biological factors. They point to the fact the symptoms worsen once patients get under a physician’s care which seems to indicate a psychological component. They believe that the symptoms are likely a response to stress or depression.
To complicate matters, those who are advocating drug treatment for the disease receive funding from the pharmaceutical companies. However, the American College of Rheumatology, the Federal Drug Administration and insurers all recognize it as a disease.
The FDA reviewers initially declined to classify it as a disease but were overruled by senior officlals. Side effects from the drug approved to treat fibromyalgia are weight gains, dizziness and sleepiness. Improvements from drugs are not that great and not that well maintained.
