What was Lyrica expected to be used for?
Lyrica was also expected to be used to treat adults with fibromyalgia, a disease causing long-lasting, widespread pain and painful responses to touch. Fibromyalgia can also cause other symptoms such as tenderness, stiffness, tiredness, anxiety and changes in how the patient sleeps, feels and thinks. The cause of fibromyalgia is not known. Lyrica was expected to be used in patients with moderate to severe pain. How is Lyrica expected to work? The active substance in Lyrica, pregabalin, is similar in structure to the body’s own ‘neurotransmitter’ gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), but has very different biological effects. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that allow nerve cells to communicate with each other. The exact way that pregabalin works is not fully understood, but it is thought to affect the way that calcium enters nerve cells. This reduces the activity of some of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, reducing the release of other neurotransmitters. This is expected to redu
