Calandre, Elena P, Rico-Villademoros, Fernando · CNS drugs · 2012 · DOI
This review examines whether antipsychotic medications—drugs typically used to treat psychiatric conditions—might also help people with fibromyalgia manage pain, sleep problems, fatigue, and mood disturbances. The authors found that some antipsychotics, particularly quetiapine, have shown promise in small studies and case reports, though most research is preliminary and more rigorous testing is needed.
ME/CFS and fibromyalgia share significant symptomatic overlap—chronic pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive dysfunction—and high comorbidity rates. Identifying novel pharmacological options with multi-system benefits (pain relief, sleep improvement, mood support) could expand treatment approaches for patients with these complex, difficult-to-treat conditions who may not tolerate or respond to first-line therapies.
This review does not establish efficacy of antipsychotics for fibromyalgia or ME/CFS; it identifies potential therapeutic targets based on mechanistic properties and preliminary clinical signals. The evidence base remains largely anecdotal, and published randomized controlled trials are minimal. Safety, optimal dosing, long-term tolerability, and applicability to ME/CFS specifically remain unproven.
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