Benefits of Tanning in Fibromyalgia Patients

NCT ID: NCT00447083

Last Updated: 2018-11-13

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 19 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2005-05-31
• Study Completion Date: 2008-09-30

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.

Conditions

Fibromyalgia Syndrome

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

UVB First

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

UVB

Intervention Type: DEVICE

UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Non-UVB

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Non-UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Non-UVB First

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.

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

UVB

Intervention Type: DEVICE

UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Non-UVB

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Non-UVB exposure by a tanning bed

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

UVB

Intervention Type: DEVICE

UVB exposure by a tanning bed

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

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Non-UVB

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Non-UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Interventions

UVB

UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Non-UVB

Non-UVB exposure by a tanning bed

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

Ultraviolet Light

Eligibility Criteria

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.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Wake Forest University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Locations

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

II-CDR-Fibromyalgia

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id