New from PubMed:

Treatment of chronic pain with antipsychotics as adjuvant analgesics has been a controversial issue for years. Producing a state of altered awareness (neuroleptanalgesia) with a combination of an opioid analgesic and an antipsychotic effectively relieves symptoms in some acute pain patients, but has been shown to negatively affect disease course and mortality in unstable angina patients. Patients with chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, and diabetic neurophathia have also sought relief from antipsychotics. With a new class of antipsychotics available with fewer extrapyramidal side effects, researchers from the department of neurology at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria postulated that there may now be additional benefits with less risks for chronic pain patients seeking relief from antipsychotics. After gathering data on 770 acute and chronic pain patients through 11 different studies, researchers found that administration of an antipsychotic significantly reduced mean pain intensity for patients compared to placebo and other active compounds. Extrapyramidal effects (involuntary movements, parkinsonism, akathisia) and sedating effects were the most commonly reported adverse effects of the antipsychotic. Researchers concluded that antipsychotics may be useful as an add-on therapy for the treatment of chronic and acute pain, but potential side effects should be taken into consideration before prescribing.

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