Savella™ (generic name Milnacipram Hydrochloride) is a Fibromyalgia medicine manufactured by Cypress Bioscience. Savella™ is a new drug and has recently received FDA approval. To understand the working of Savella™, it is necessary to understand, what Fibromyalgia is and what causes the condition? Fibromyalgia is characterized by the heightened feelings of pain. Not only the pain is felt all over the body but it is accompanied by debilitating fatigue. The condition affects the memory system also and usually the long term and short term memories are impaired. In fact the pain management system is very elaborate arrangement designed by the nature. As the pain signals are received in the brain, another system kicks in to decrease the feeling. This secondary pain relieving system is impaired in the patients with Fibromyalgia.

Savella™ is designed to correct this imbalance. Serotonin is major INHIBITORY neurotransmitter, meaning that it is a balancing chemical and norepinephrine is an alerting neurotransmitter. Savella™ is dual reuptake inhibitor that results in the drug inhibiting the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine. As the reuptake is inhibited, both neurotransmitters become abundant in the system. This increased availability relieves the pain and fatigue symptoms.

As a matter of fact many SRIs (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Prozac™ make serotonin available; however dual reuptake inhibitors are more suited to Fibromyalgia patients. Former Tricyclic antidepressants like Tofranil™ had the similar action to that of Savella™ however their adverse reactions were so severe that they are not first line medicines any more. There are also many “off label” uses of Savella™ especially it is effective in weight reduction by reducing the feeling of hunger.

Savella