New Help for People with Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a common, but still too little discussed, condition characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain, sleep problems, fatigue, mental distress and cognitive impairment. This new study suggests a safe, natural solution that might help.

Fibromyalgia affects between 2% and 8% of all people and probably about 2%-3% of people in the United States and Canada. For some reason, fibromyalgia favours women: in adults, women are twice as likely to have fibromyalgia, making it the most common cause of generalized musculoskeletal pain in women.

Like so many pain conditions, modern medicine has struggled to offer help. Several drugs are used, but they have failed to demonstrate significant benefit and come with risks of adverse events.

This new study looked at the effect of adding Acetyl-L-Carnitine to the medications of 137 people with fibromyalgia. The dosing started with an intramuscular injection of 500mg a day for 10 days and then switched to an oral dose of 500mg twice a day for 20 days followed by a maintenance dose of 500mg a day for 14 months.

The primary outcome the researchers were studying was the person’s evaluation of pain on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The improvement with Acetyl-L-Carnitine was significant. The VAS ranges from 0 (no pain) to 100 (worst pain). When Acetyl-L-Carnitine was added, scores dropped from 75.9 to 59.6.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine also significantly improved quality of life, according to Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire—Revised (FIQ-R) scores. The higher the FIQ-R score the worse the quality of life. Taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine improved scores from 75.1 at the start of the study to 53.5 at the end. This improvement represented a transition in severity level from severe to moderate.

The Short Form 12 (SF12) score measures physical and mental health status. There was significant improvement on both with Acetyl-L-Carnitine.

This study suggests that adding Acetyl-L-Carnitine can safely and dramatically improve quality of life in people with fibromyalgia.

Biomedicines. 2025 Mar 28;13(4):820.

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