Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23286311›Full record

Trial reportTrials2013

Evaluation of the efficacy of memantine in the treatment of fibromyalgia: study protocol for a doubled-blind randomized controlled trial with six-month follow-up.

Bárbara Olivan-Blázquez, Marta Puebla, Bárbara Masluk, Mari-Cruz Pérez-Yus, Raquel Arcega, Eva Andrés, Yolanda López-del-Hoyo, Rosa Magallon, Miquel Roca, Javier Garcia-Campayo

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Ketamine and other NMDA receptor antagonists for chronic pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Bárbara Olivan-BlázquezDepartment of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
Marta Puebla
Bárbara Masluk
Mari-Cruz Pérez-Yus
Raquel Arcega
Eva Andrés
Yolanda López-del-Hoyo
Rosa Magallon
Miquel Roca
Javier Garcia-Campayo
Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud · ESRed de Investigación en Actividades Preventivas y Promoción de la Salud · ESUniversidad de Zaragoza · ESCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública · ESHospital Universitario Miguel Servet · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFibromyalgia is a prevalent chronic rheumatic disease of great clinical importance. Recent studies have found raised levels of glutamate in the insula, hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex regions of the brains of fibromyalgia (FM) patients. This finding has led researchers to speculate about the usefulness of glutamate-blocking drugs such as memantine in the treatment of fibromyalgia. The hypothesis of this study is that the administration of memantine will reduce the glutamate levels, and futhermore, will decrease the perceived pain. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of memantine in the treatment of pain (pain perception). A secondary objective is to evaluate the efficacy of memantine in the treatment of other clinical symptoms of FM, and to evaluate the efficacy of memantine in reducing brain levels of glutamate, and its effects on the central nervous system as a whole. METHOD/

designA double-blind parallel randomized controlled trial. Participants, Seventy patients diagnosed with FM will be recruited from primary health care centers in Zaragoza, Spain. Intervention. The subjects will be randomized in two groups: A) A treatment group (n = 35), which will receive 20 mg of memantine daily; B) A control group (n = 35), to which will be administered a placebo. There will be a six-month follow-up period (including a titration period of one month). Outcomes. The main efficacy variable of this study is pain (pain perception). The secondary efficacy variables are clinical symptoms (pain threshold, cognitive function, health status, anxiety, depression, clinical impression and quality of life) and glutamate levels in different regions of the brain, which will be assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Randomization and blinding. Randomization has been computer-generated, and the random allocation sequence will be implemented by telephone. Subjects of the study and the research assistants will be blinded to group assignment. DISCUSSION: There is a need for the development of innovative and more effective treatments for fibromyalgia. This clinical trial will determine whether memantine can be an effective pharmacological treatment for fibromyalgia patients.

trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials http://ISRCTN45127327 EUDRACT 2011-006244-73.

Indexed as

Research DesignBrainClinical ProtocolsCognitionDouble-Blind MethodDrug Administration ScheduleExcitatory Amino Acid AntagonistsFibromyalgiaGlutamic AcidHealth StatusHumansMagnetic Resonance SpectroscopyMemantinePainPain MeasurementPain PerceptionExcitatory Amino Acid AntagonistsGlutamic AcidMemantine

Identifiers

PMID23286311
PMCPMC3598995
OpenAlexW2128205668

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.