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Fibromyalgia can no longer be called the invisible syndrome
Written by Tuesday, November 04 2008 - Last Updated Tuesday, November 04 2008
Using SPECT, researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in parts of the brain where pain is processed, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Using SPECT, researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the
disorder are related to a dysfunction in parts of the brain where pain is processed, according to a study in the November issue of the
Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Fibromyalgia is frequently considered an \'invisible syndrome\' since musculoskeletal imaging is negative," said the studys lead author Eric Guedj, MD, and a researcher at Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone. Past imaging studies of patients with the syndrome,
however, have shown above-normal cerebral blood flow in some areas of the brain and below-normal in other areas. After performing whole-brain scans on the participants, we used a statistical analysis to study the relationship between functional activity in even the smallest area of the brain and various parameters related to pain, disability and anxiety/depression.
In the study, 20 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 10 healthy women as a control group responded to questionnaires to determine levels of pain, disability, anxiety and depression. SPECT was then performed, and then the researchers determined positive and negative correlations.
The investigators confirmed that patients with the syndrome exhibited brain perfusion abnormalities in comparison to the healthy subjects, and that abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of the disease. The investigators reported that hyperperfusion was
found in that region of the brain known to discriminate pain intensity, and hypoperfusion was found within those areas thought to be involved in emotional responses to pain. In the past, researchers have thought that the pain reported by fibromyalgia patients was the
result of depression rather than symptoms of a disorder. "Interestingly, we found that these functional abnormalities were independent of anxiety and depression status," Guedj said.
According to Guedj, disability is frequently used in controlled clinical trials to evaluate response to treatment. Because molecular imaging techniques, such as SPECT, can help predict a patient\'s response to a specific treatment and evaluate brain-processing recovery during
follow-up, it could prove useful when integrated into future pharmacological controlled trials.
Fibromyalgia may be related to a global dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing," Guedj added. "This study demonstrates that these patients exhibit modifications of brain perfusion not found
in healthy subjects and reinforces the idea that fibromyalgia is a real disease/disorder.
YEAH, LIKE WE DIDN\'T KNOW THIS STUFF WAS REAL!! WE NOW HAVE PROOF! PROOF I TELL YOU! MEDICAL & UNDENIABLE!
Written by Tuesday, November 04 2008 - Last Updated Tuesday, November 04 2008
Using SPECT, researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in parts of the brain where pain is processed, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Using SPECT, researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the
disorder are related to a dysfunction in parts of the brain where pain is processed, according to a study in the November issue of the
Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Fibromyalgia is frequently considered an \'invisible syndrome\' since musculoskeletal imaging is negative," said the studys lead author Eric Guedj, MD, and a researcher at Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de la Timone. Past imaging studies of patients with the syndrome,
however, have shown above-normal cerebral blood flow in some areas of the brain and below-normal in other areas. After performing whole-brain scans on the participants, we used a statistical analysis to study the relationship between functional activity in even the smallest area of the brain and various parameters related to pain, disability and anxiety/depression.
In the study, 20 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 10 healthy women as a control group responded to questionnaires to determine levels of pain, disability, anxiety and depression. SPECT was then performed, and then the researchers determined positive and negative correlations.
The investigators confirmed that patients with the syndrome exhibited brain perfusion abnormalities in comparison to the healthy subjects, and that abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of the disease. The investigators reported that hyperperfusion was
found in that region of the brain known to discriminate pain intensity, and hypoperfusion was found within those areas thought to be involved in emotional responses to pain. In the past, researchers have thought that the pain reported by fibromyalgia patients was the
result of depression rather than symptoms of a disorder. "Interestingly, we found that these functional abnormalities were independent of anxiety and depression status," Guedj said.
According to Guedj, disability is frequently used in controlled clinical trials to evaluate response to treatment. Because molecular imaging techniques, such as SPECT, can help predict a patient\'s response to a specific treatment and evaluate brain-processing recovery during
follow-up, it could prove useful when integrated into future pharmacological controlled trials.
Fibromyalgia may be related to a global dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing," Guedj added. "This study demonstrates that these patients exhibit modifications of brain perfusion not found
in healthy subjects and reinforces the idea that fibromyalgia is a real disease/disorder.
YEAH, LIKE WE DIDN\'T KNOW THIS STUFF WAS REAL!! WE NOW HAVE PROOF! PROOF I TELL YOU! MEDICAL & UNDENIABLE!
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My 6mo twin DD's are EBF and just started rice cereal on the first. Everything has been going fine except this morning one of them had a diaper rash (lots of redness around her anus). I read this as one of the signs of an allergy. BUT I did just buy a different brand diaper yesterday (which they have used randomly before w/no issues). Do you think its the cereal or the diaper? Im ready to start...
I have been MIA for a quite some time---for that I apologize---it has been a wild and wooly month full of surprises (unfortunately none of the good nature). I will not take the time to elaborate now, suffice to say, as per usual we survive as best we can.
All that aside, I would like to inform you of a government study focusing on chronic illness. It is the first study of this kind and is funded by the National Institute of Health and being facilitated by the University of Michigan and the Non-Profit group Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness. Here is a link for more informationit is also the link for participating in the survey. Please take the time to participate.
TAKE THE CHRONIC ILLNESS SURVEY
Have you always wished that you could tell your health care story to the government? Here's your chance.
Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc. and the University of Michigan Center for Managing Chronic Disease have been awarded a grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the obstacles facing the chronically ill, interventions that do and do not work to surmount those obstacles, and ways in which the work done by the NIH, including research and clinical trials, may be helpful to patients with chronic illnesses. With the help of twelve patients and caregivers, we have drafted a survey which is available online at http://chronicdisease.survey.sgizmo.com.
If you would like to take the survey, please do so. If, for any reason, you are unable to take the survey online, or you would prefer to be interviewed by telephone, please call (860) 674-1370 or email patient_advocate@sbcglobal.net. She will provide more details about the study and arrange for an interviewer to call you to schedule the telephone interview at a time convenient to you.
Thank-You!
The basis of the survey is to answer the question is our government meeting the needs of the chronically ill? We all know the answer to that question---now is the time to let our voices be heard and counted.
Please forward this survey to everyone and anyone who is touched by chronic illness.
Also-please take note of the mission of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illnessthere are so many posts on this site about disability application problems. They can help!
http://www.advocacyforpatients.org/
On a personal noteI hope to be able to find my way back to this site more regularly after our lives get a bit more under control. Right now I feel like I am paddling as fast as I can and am just barely keeping my head above water.
All my best to you allagainPLEASE PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY AND PASS IT ON---IT IS OUR HEALTH THEY ARE ASKING ABOUT!!
Stephanie
Either way, thank you so much for posting this. Personally, especially being in the medical field, just knowing why or that there is real proof, makes all the difference!
This is proof that our brains, and our pain signals, are amplified all out of proportion to the stimulus, and "overactive nerves" are certainly one way to describe it.