Study of Duloxetine in the Reduction of Pain in Patient With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Duloxetine (Cymbalta) is a reuptake inhibitor of both serotonin and norepinephrine. By increasing levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, the descending inhibitory pain pathways may function better. These pathways lessen the perception of pain. Results of double blind, placebo controlled, clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of Duloxetine (Cymbalta) have shown that at doses of 60 mg once a day or 60 mg twice a day, Duloxetine (Cymbalta) demonstrated significantly higher rates of treatment response for pain when compared to placebo. Given the positive findings in other clinical trial studies for Duloxetine (Cymbalta) such as Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (Raskin et al., 2005) and Fibromyalgia (e.g. Arnold et al., 2005), the investigators hypothesize that Duloxetine (Cymbalta) may reduce the pain severity, frequency and intensity of exacerbations in patients with SLE.