Takaisin

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) in treatment of fibromyalgia

Näytönastekatsaukset
Aleksi Varinen and Aleksi Raudasoja
3.3.2026

Level of evidence: D

The evidence on MAOIs in treatment of fibromyalgia is uncertain.

A Cochrane review including two small, randomized trials «Tort S, Urrútia G, Nishishinya MB, et al. Monoamin...»1 measured the effectiveness of MAOIs in the treatment of fibromyalgia. The pooled effect on pain was -1.45 points (95 % confidence interval -2.71 to -0.20), translating to about -32 % decrease in pain.

Due to very small sample sizes, estimating the amount of harms is very uncertain.

The evidence was downgraded due to high risk of bias (two times) and imprecision.

Table 1. Description of the included studies
Reference Study type Population Intervention and comparison Outcomes Risk of bias
RCT=randomized controlled trial; SR=systematic review; MA=meta-analysis; NMA=network meta-analysis; FIQ=Fibromyalgia impact questionnaire
«Tort S, Urrútia G, Nishishinya MB, et al. Monoamin...»1 SR/MA Adults with fibromyalgia MAOI vs placebo Pain, adverse effects High
Table 2. Additional comments for included studies
Reference Comments
«Tort S, Urrútia G, Nishishinya MB, et al. Monoamin...»1 Dropout 30% and 40%. Second trial used on only per-protocol analysis. Evaluated adverse events included Dizziness, gastric discomfort, Headache, insomnia, nausea, pain increase, palpitations, discontinuations due to adverse events, depression.
Table 3. Outcome 1 – Average pain [scale 0-10]
Reference Number of studies and number of patients Follow-up time Mean at follow up (sd) I Mean at follow up (sd) C Mean difference (95% CI)
Level of evidence: very low
The quality of evidence is downgraded two times due to study limitations and once for imprecision.
I= intervention; C=comparison; CI=confidence interval
«Tort S, Urrútia G, Nishishinya MB, et al. Monoamin...»1 2 studies 4-12 weeks - 6,0 -1.45 (-2.71 to -0)

References

  1. Tort S, Urrútia G, Nishishinya MB, et al. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) for fibromyalgia syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012;2012(4):CD009807 «PMID: 22513976»PubMed