Fibromyalgia Research News

From the Fibromyalgia FMS Global News Desk of Jeanne Hambleton

A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine – NCBI – www.pubmed.gov
and the National Institutes of Health

Multidisciplinary care and stepwise treatment for fibromyalgia
J Clin Psychiatry. 2009 Feb 9;69(12):e35.

Arnold LM, Bradley LA, Clauw DJ, Glass JM, Goldenberg DL.
Division of Women’s Health Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

Fibromyalgia is a common musculoskeletal pain condition associated with chronic widespread pain, tenderness at various points on the body, fatigue, sleep abnormalities, and common comorbidity with psychiatric and medical disorders. Research into pharmacologic remedies for fibromyalgia has demonstrated efficacy for a variety of agents, but pharmacology is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to successful management of fibromyalgia. Sensitive and appropriate methods of diagnosis and an integrated treatment plan including proper patient education, aerobic exercise, and cognitive-behavioral therapy have been shown effective in alleviating fibromyalgic symptoms. The development of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary disease management strategy is a difficult but essential challenge facing clinicians treating patients with fibromyalgia. Copyright 2008 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

PMID: 19203485 [PubMed - in process] Courtesy of NCBI & PubMed

Assessing and diagnosing fibromyalgia in the clinical setting
J Clin Psychiatry. 2008 Nov 6;69(11):e33.

Clauw DJ.
Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Fibromyalgia is a common and disabling condition that may be difficult to assess and diagnose owing to its wide range of symptoms and common comorbidities. The most common symptoms of fibromyalgia include widespread pain over the whole body, pain at specific tender points, fatigue, memory and other cognitive problems, sleep and mood disturbances, and impaired functioning. Accurately diagnosing fibromyalgia may require diagnostic testing and physical examinations such as tender points examinations; however, patients with longstanding symptoms may be diagnosed according to a symptom-based fibromyalgia criteria checklist. This activity provides a sample assessment and diagnosis in a clinical situation. Copyright 2008 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

PMID: 19200425 [PubMed - in process] Courtesy of NCBI & PubMed

Evaluating obesity in fibromyalgia: neuroendocrine biomarkers, symptoms, and functions
Clin Rheumatol. 2009 Jan 27. [Epub ahead of print]

Okifuji A, Bradshaw DH, Olson C

Pain Research and Management Center, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah, 615 Arapeen Drive, Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA, akiko.okifuji@hsc.utah.edu.

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between obesity and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This study was conducted at the University of Utah Pain Management and Research Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Thirty-eight FMS patients were included in this study. Neuroendocrine indices (catecholamines, cortisol, C-reactive protein [CRP], and interleukin-6), symptom measures (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), sleep indices (Actigraph), and physical functioning (treadmill testing) were measured. Body mass index (BMI) provided the primary indicator of obesity. Approximately 50% of the patients were obese and an additional 21% were overweight. Strong positive associations were found between BMI and levels of IL-6 (r = 0.52) and epinephrine (r = 0.54), and somewhat weaker associations with cortisol (r = 0.32) and CRP (r = 0.37). BMI was also related to maximal heart rate (r = 0.33) and inversely related to distance walked (r = -0.41). BMI was associated with disturbed sleep: total sleep time (r = -0.56) and sleep efficiency (r = -0.44). No associations between self-reported symptoms and BMI were found. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that obesity plays a role in FMS-related dysfunction.

PMID: 19172342 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Courtesy of NCBI & PubMed

Increased frequencies of hysterectomy and early menopause in fibromyalgia patients: a comparative study
Clin Rheumatol. 2009 Jan 24. [Epub ahead of print]

Pamuk ON, Dönmez S, Cakir N.

The objective was to determine the relationship between symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) and early menopause and hysterectomy. We included 115 postmenopausal patients with FM (mean age 54.6 +/- 7.6) and 67 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (mean age 55.5 +/- 9) into our study. All patients were questioned about the severity of their symptoms of FM, anxiety, and depression by using a visual analog scale and FM impact questionnaire. Patients’ history of menopause and hysterectomy were recorded. Menopause ( 0.05). FM-related symptoms started in 30 patients (26.1%) with FM with menopause or within the first postmenopausal year. When the clinical features of FM patients whose symptoms started within the first menopausal year were compared to other FM patients; it was observed that the frequency of early menopause was higher in the former group (p = 0.048). Duke anxiety and depression score was higher in patients with hysterectomy whose FM symptoms started within the first year of post-hysterectomy than other FM patients (9.1 +/- 2.7 vs. 6.7 +/- 2.7, p = 0.022). Early menopause and hysterectomy may be one of the factors contributing to the development of FM.

PMID: 19169621 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] Courtesy of NCBI & PubMed