Popular Nerve Pain Medicine Has Little Effect On Back Pain.

Pfizer Inc.’s best-selling drug, Lyrica (pregabalin), “didn’t help patients with the most common cause of back pain,” severe lumbar spinal stenosis, “any more than a placebo in a small study.” The study’s findings, published in the journal Neurology, casts “doubt on the potential for doctors to expand the medication’s use.” The FDA “has not approved the drug’s use for spinal stenosis,” but Lyrica “and similar medicines are often used to treat lower back pain.” Lyrica is currently used “to treat pain caused by shingles and diabetes and for conditions including epilepsy, fibromyalgia and hot flashes.” Houman Danesh, a specialist in pain management, rehabilitation and physical medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, said “the drug’s reputation may be strong enough to withstand the results of the trial” and said he doesn’t “think people will change their practice based on one study.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-10/pfizer-s-lyrica-doesn-t-help-most-common-back-pain-study-finds.html