Droxidopa may treat chronic fatigue disease, says Chelsea Therapeutics

The investigational drug droxidopa is now being tested for its efficacy to treat chronic fatigue syndrome.

Droxidopa is a synthetic catecholamine. This compound gets directly converted to norepinephrine through decarboxylation. As a result norepinephrine levels will increase in the nervous system.

At present, Chelsea Therapeutics is testing droxidiopa for the treatment of symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension in patients with primary autonomic failure. Primary autonomic failure is a group of diseases including Parkinson’s disease, multiple systems atrophy and pure autonomic failure.

Droxidopa is also being studied for the treatment of fibromyalgia and adult attention deficit disorder in two ongoing phase II trials. The experimental drug  has also been completed a phase II study in intradialytic hypotension.

The new phase II clinical study of droxidopa has now been initiated in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd announced.

CFS is characterized by extreme fatigue that is not improved by rest.  Patients with CFS also experience symptoms, similar to that of fibromyalgia including, weakness, muscle pain, impaired memory and concentration.

Chelsea said droxidopa had been shown to improve symptoms of fatigue, weakness and concentration in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension associated with a variety of conditions including Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy and pure autonomic failure.

The trial will evaluate up to 600 mg of droxidopa for three times a day dosage in CFS patients. Nearly 20 patients will be  tested over a two-week period. The treatment will continue for 12 weeks.

“As we continue to work towards an approval for droxidopa for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, we are eager to expand the body of clinical research supporting potential indications that could be effectively treated with norepinephrine replacement therapy,” said Dr Simon Pedder, president and CEO of Chelsea in an official release.

Chelsea Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical development company.