Effects of the glial modulator palmitoylethanolamide on chronic pain intensity and brain function
Open-label, no control groupHumans
- Design
- Open-label, no control group
- Subjects
- 22 adults with chronic nerve-related facial pain, in Australia
- Dose used in the study
- 300 mg capsules, at an individual dose of 600 to 900 mg three times a day
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- What was measured
- Pain intensity on a visual analogue scale, and slow oscillating activity in the brain's facial pain pathway on MRI.
What the authors reported
This open-label study found:
- Pain fell in 16 of the 22 participants, and by more than 20% in 11 — in those 11, pain fell by an average of 62%.
- In the others it rose by an average of 20%.
- Brain oscillation activity fell in one part of the pain pathway in both groups, and in the thalamus only in those whose pain improved.
- Functional connections between the brainstem and thalamus changed only in those whose pain improved.
- No side effects were reported.
Limits of this study
A phase 1 open-label trial with no placebo, which the authors name as a limit. Half of the participants did not reach a 20% fall in pain. The doses were higher than in most trials. It was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and a memorial fund, and the authors declared no conflicts.
Source
PubMed 31447580 · doi:10.2147/JPR.S209657
Entry checked against the full text at the publisher (Dove Medical Press) on 2026-09-21. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.