Benefits of Tanning in Fibromyalgia Patients

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Interventions: Device: UVB
Procedure: Non-UVB

Registration Number: NCT00447083

Lead Sponsor: Wake Forest University

Brief Summary: * To establish whether ultraviolet light exposure acutely reduces perceptions of pain in patients with fibromyalgia.

* To establish whether a series of UV light exposures has a cumulative effect on fibromyalgia pain.

Detailed Description: Fibromyalgia is a common chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain and fatigue. It occurs primarily in women, especially women of childbearing age. The effectiveness of treatment for this disorder is limited, and alternative medical treatments are commonly used.

Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure gives a sense of relaxation. It is unknown whether UV exposure has any effect on pain, particularly in patients with fibromyalgia. Through studies performed with RO3 funding from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), we demonstrated that in frequent tanners, appearance is less important than UV-induced relaxation in motivating tanning behavior. Moreover, we determined that UV light has reinforcing properties apart from any psychosocial benefits of having a tan. One subject in our study reported low back pain relief from the UV exposure condition.

This is a two-year proposal that is the beginning of a long-term plan to assess whether indoor tanning ultraviolet light exposure has a therapeutic effect for patients with chronic pain. To this end, we will determine the effect of UV light on fibromyalgia pain in a controlled, double blind clinical trial of UV exposure. This approach is carefully designed to separate the effects of UV exposure on pain from potential confounds associated with the tanning procedure, including any perceived benefits of having a tan. The results of this study will increase our understanding of the specific influence of UV light on persistence in tanning behavior.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 19

Inclusion Criteria

Fibromyalgia patients who meet the fibromyalgia criteria, and who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia by a board certified rheumatologist. The fibromyalgia criteria {as defined by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)} require the patient to have: at least 3 months of widespread pain defined as: bilateral; above and below the waist, including axial skeletal pain; and pain to palpation with 4kg of pressure at a minimum of 11 out of 18 predefined tender points.
Ideally, patients should not be taking medication for treatment of fibromyalgia, and they should not be taking psychoactive medications on an as needed basis for treatment of fibromyalgia. However, if patients are taking psychoactive or other medications for the treatment of fibromyalgia, then they should be on a stable dose, defined as no change in dosage in the 4 weeks prior to study enrollment.
Patients must agree to not partake in tanning bed UV exposure during the study.

Exclusion Criteria

Fitzpatrick skin type 1 ("never tan, always burn")
Past or present skin cancer
Current use of photosensitizing drugs (current use of photosensitizing drugs will be evaluated via a patient questionnaire at time of patient enrollment - see Appendix 1),, psychoactive medications (not a stable dose, defined as no change in dosage in the 4 weeks prior to study enrollment), or illicit drugs
Pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breast feeding
Significant visual discrimination of UV versus non-UV conditions
Greater than 6 indoor tanning sessions over the past year
Concurrent photosensitive disease, positive antinuclear antibody test, positive anti-Smith antibody test, or positive anti-dsDNA test.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
UVB First	UVB	Subjects with fibromyalgia will undergo 6 tanning sessions (3/week x 2 weeks) at which they will be exposed in tanning beds with UV. The dose of UV (time of exposure) will be progressively increased from 3 minutes to 9 minutes over the 6 visits to acclimate subjects to UV light. Before and after every tanning session the subject will complete the pain questionnaire. Subjects in this group will be randomized to receive UVB tanning bed treatment first, then switch to the non-UVB treatment.
UVB	UVB	The subjects who complete the acclimation phase of the study will then be randomized to 3 times/week treatments for 6 weeks with a fixed dose (10 min) of UVB.
UVB First	Non-UVB	Subjects with fibromyalgia will undergo 6 tanning sessions (3/week x 2 weeks) at which they will be exposed in tanning beds with UV. The dose of UV (time of exposure) will be progressively increased from 3 minutes to 9 minutes over the 6 visits to acclimate subjects to UV light. Before and after every tanning session the subject will complete the pain questionnaire. Subjects in this group will be randomized to receive UVB tanning bed treatment first, then switch to the non-UVB treatment.
Non-UVB First	Non-UVB	Subjects with fibromyalgia will undergo 6 tanning sessions (3/week x 2 weeks) at which they will be exposed in tanning beds with non-UV bulbs. The time of exposure will be progressively increased from 3 minutes to 9 minutes over the 6 visits to mirror UVB treatment. Before and after every tanning session the subject will complete the pain questionnaire. Subjects in this group will be randomized to receive non-UVB tanning bed treatment first, then switch to the UVB treatment.
Non-UVB First	UVB	Subjects with fibromyalgia will undergo 6 tanning sessions (3/week x 2 weeks) at which they will be exposed in tanning beds with non-UV bulbs. The time of exposure will be progressively increased from 3 minutes to 9 minutes over the 6 visits to mirror UVB treatment. Before and after every tanning session the subject will complete the pain questionnaire. Subjects in this group will be randomized to receive non-UVB tanning bed treatment first, then switch to the UVB treatment.
Non-UVB	Non-UVB	The subjects who complete the acclimation phase of the study will then be randomized to 3 times/week treatments for 6 weeks with a fixed dose (10 min) of non-UVB exposure

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pain Relief Success Rates (Phase I)	2 weeks	Percentage of exposures that showed pain relief (2 point improvement in Likert scale) in the 11 point Likert scale.
Pain Score- Likert Scale(Phase II)	6 weeks	Pain will be assessed on an 11-point pain scale where 0=no pain and 10=worst possible pain. A 30% improvement in reported pain will be considered a treatment "success.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Post-treatment Pain Scores- Likert Scale (Phase I)	2 weeks	As a secondary outcome, the post-treatment pain scores between the UV and non-UV exposures given on the first day the dose is given will be compared. Pain will be assessed on an 11-point pain Likert scale where 0=no pain and 10=worst possible pain
Pain Scores of the UV and Non-UV Exposure (Phase II)	4 weeks post-treatment	The pain scores were assessed using a Likert Scale. Pain will be assessed on an 11-point pain Likert scale where 0=no pain and 10=worst possible pain.