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Brain Imaging Study on Biomarkers for Fibromyalgia

This trial has no sites in United States.

It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.

Could this be for you?

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 18 and 75 years old?

Source: NCT03910010, who can take part

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Trial details

Who runs it
Nova Scotia Health Authority
Trial code
NCT03910010
Record updated
22 August 2024
Original description
Drugs used for managing Fibromyalgia pain have not proven to be effective and pain continues to cost Canadians $60 billion a year without truly helping those who suffer. The study proposes to investigate the factors related to a person that can enhance or reduce the effectiveness of pain treatments in people suffering with Fibromyalgia pain. Treatment response to painkillers in a person may be related to their brain, social, and psychological makeup. The investigators aim to study these factors to identify and develop feasible and robust indicators based on a person's biological makeup (also called biomarkers). These biomarkers will allow doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies for a particular disease will work in which groups of people. These measures will offer new opportunities for improving treatment such as by tailoring treatment to meet the specific needs of each patient based on his/her biological and psychological makeup. Towards the specific aim, data will first be collected in several experimental domains for studying treatment expectations (cognitive, psychosocial, brain-related). These 'experimental' data will be compared between Fibromyalgia (FM) and healthy participants to yield new understanding of the factors that govern treatment response. At the end of experimental data collection, the investigators will collect data in the 'clinical' domain. Hence, at the end of the experimental sessions, a subset of FM participants will receive a mock drug (placebo disguised as an approved pain treatment) and another subset will provide pain ratings only and hence serve as a waiting list control for the placebo trial. Data will be studied in steps to understand factors that mediate treatment outcomes and finally the investigators will use advanced computational tools used for big data analysis and aim to identify factors that can be used as biomarkers and precision medicine tools.Read full original descriptionShow less

Drugs used for managing Fibromyalgia pain have not proven to be effective and pain continues to cost Canadians $60 billion a year without truly helping those who suffer. The study proposes to investigate the factors related to a person that can enhance or reduce the effectiveness of pain treatments in people suffering with Fibromyalgia pain. Treatment response to painkillers in a person may be related to their brain, social, and psychological makeup. The investigators aim to study these factors to identify and develop feasible and robust indicators based on a person's biological makeup (also called biomarkers). These biomarkers will allow doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies for a particular disease will work in which groups of people. These measures will offer new opportunities for improving treatment such as by tailoring treatment to meet the specific needs of each patient based on his/her biological and psychological makeup. Towards the specific aim, data will first be collected in several experimental domains for studying treatment expectations (cognitive, psychosocial, brain-related). These 'experimental' data will be compared between Fibromyalgia (FM) and healthy participants to yield new understanding of the factors that govern treatment response. At the end of experimental data collection, the investigators will collect data in the 'clinical' domain. Hence, at the end of the experimental sessions, a subset of FM participants will receive a mock drug (placebo disguised as an approved pain treatment) and another subset will provide pain ratings only and hence serve as a waiting list control for the placebo trial. Data will be studied in steps to understand factors that mediate treatment outcomes and finally the investigators will use advanced computational tools used for big data analysis and aim to identify factors that can be used as biomarkers and precision medicine tools.

Inclusion: Chronic pain participant inclusion criteria:; 18-75 years of age; Right-handed; Meet the classification criteria of chronic low back pain (having low back pain for more than 6 months); At least 4/10 clinical pain on the Brief Pain Inventory Scale on average during the two weeks prior to enrollment; Comfortable completing (reading and writing) questionnaires and tasks with English language instructions; Healthy participant inclusion criteria:; 18 - 75 years of age; Right-handed; Comfortable completing (reading and writing) questionnaires and tasks with English language instructions.

Exclusion: History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that may interfere with participation in the study or cause heightened potential for adverse outcome. For example: asthma or claustrophobia; Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning. For example:; cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, fear of closed spaces, pregnancy; Healthy participant exclusion criteria:; History of cardiac, respiratory, or nervous system disease that, in the investigator's judgment and by asking the participant about their comfort level and ability, precludes participation in the study because of a heightened potential for adverse outcome. For example: asthma or claustrophobia; Presence of any contraindications to MRI scanning. For example:; cardiac pacemaker, metal implants, fear of closed spaces, pregnancy; Chronic pain participant exclusion criteria:; Acute or chronic pain.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03910010