A double-blind controlled study of seratonin uptake inhibitor (Zimelidine) versus placebo in chronic pain patients.

Forty patients with pain syndromes of both organic and psychogenic origin of at least 6 months' duration were included in a double-blind controlled study of a new rather selective serotonin uptake inhibitor, Zimelidine, versus placebo. Patients in the Zimelidine group experienced significantly more pain relief and tended to be able to reduce their need for analgesics more often than the patients in the placebo group. In the Zimelidine group 4 patients were excluded due to nausea and intestinal troubles versus only 1 patient in the placebo group. However, among the patients who completed the trial the side-effects were mild.