Several pharmacologic therapies have been recommended for the management of myogenic temporomandibular disorders. Pregabalin has been evaluated to be effective for fibromyalgia. However, the efficacy of pregabalin for myogenic temporomandibular disorders is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of pregabalin for myogenic temporomandibular disorders.
Method:
Patients with myogenic temporomandibular disorders in whom pregabalin therapy was started between October 1st, 2010 and March 31st, 2011 were selected retrospectively from clinical records. Changes in the severity of pain and side effects following pregabalin were evaluated. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationships between psychogenic factors (Scores in the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and drug effectiveness.
Result:
Pregabalin therapy was applied in 26 patients. Pain relief was obtained in 19 out of 26 patient (73.0%). The observed side effects were dizziness (n=4), weight gain (n=3), and drowsiness (n=1). Most of the side effects recovered spontaneously within a few days. However, one patient had to discontinue pregabalin due to weight gain and hyperglycemia. There were no significant relationships between psychogenic factors and drug effectiveness.
Conclusion:
Pregabalin showed sufficient analgesic effects for the patients with myogenic temporomandibular disorders along with few side effects. Although the mechanism of analgesic effect of pregabalin is still unclear, pregabalin is known as an alpha2-delta ligand that has analgesic, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, and sleep modulating activities. We think that use of pregabalin is beneficial in pain management for chronic myogenic temporomandibular disorders.