New Clues to Fibromyalgia's Causes (preliminary study)
Panda_1999
Posts: 191 Member
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/08/06/new-clues-to-fibromyalgias-causes
New Clues to Fibromyalgia's Causes
Condition called small-fiber polyneuropathy may lie behind many cases, research suggests
August 6, 2013
TUESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- About half of fibromyalgia patients have damage to nerve fibers in their skin and other evidence of a disease called small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN), a small new study finds.
Fibromyalgia is characterized by symptoms such as pain and tenderness, fatigue, and sleep and memory problems. The disorder has no known causes and few effective treatments.
The study of 27 fibromyalgia patients found that 13 had evidence of small-fiber polyneuropathy. Unlike fibromyalgia, small-fiber polyneuropathy is known to be caused by specific medical conditions, some of which can be treated and sometimes cured, according to the Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.
The findings were published online in the journal Pain.
"This provides some of the first objective evidence of a mechanism behind some cases of fibromyalgia, and identifying an underlying cause is the first step towards finding better treatments," study corresponding author Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, director of the hospital's nerve injury unit and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said in a hospital news release.
"Until now, there has been no good idea about what causes fibromyalgia, but now we have evidence for some but not all patients. Fibromyalgia is too complex for a 'one size fits all' explanation," Oaklander said.
"The next step of independent confirmation of our findings from other laboratories is already happening, and we also need to follow those patients who didn't meet SFPN criteria to see if we can find other causes," she said. "Helping any of these people receive definitive diagnoses and better treatment would be a great accomplishment."
Fibromyalgia affects 1 percent to 5 percent of people in Western nations, and many more women than men.
New Clues to Fibromyalgia's Causes
Condition called small-fiber polyneuropathy may lie behind many cases, research suggests
August 6, 2013
TUESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) -- About half of fibromyalgia patients have damage to nerve fibers in their skin and other evidence of a disease called small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN), a small new study finds.
Fibromyalgia is characterized by symptoms such as pain and tenderness, fatigue, and sleep and memory problems. The disorder has no known causes and few effective treatments.
The study of 27 fibromyalgia patients found that 13 had evidence of small-fiber polyneuropathy. Unlike fibromyalgia, small-fiber polyneuropathy is known to be caused by specific medical conditions, some of which can be treated and sometimes cured, according to the Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.
The findings were published online in the journal Pain.
"This provides some of the first objective evidence of a mechanism behind some cases of fibromyalgia, and identifying an underlying cause is the first step towards finding better treatments," study corresponding author Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, director of the hospital's nerve injury unit and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, said in a hospital news release.
"Until now, there has been no good idea about what causes fibromyalgia, but now we have evidence for some but not all patients. Fibromyalgia is too complex for a 'one size fits all' explanation," Oaklander said.
"The next step of independent confirmation of our findings from other laboratories is already happening, and we also need to follow those patients who didn't meet SFPN criteria to see if we can find other causes," she said. "Helping any of these people receive definitive diagnoses and better treatment would be a great accomplishment."
Fibromyalgia affects 1 percent to 5 percent of people in Western nations, and many more women than men.
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appreciate the info!0
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interesting, I wonder how they test for this?0
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Thanks For Sharing0
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I have learned there are soooo many different possible reasons for developing FMS. Serotonin deficiencies, dopamine instability, adrenal fatigue, clinical endocannabinoid deficiency, pro-longed and/or severe spikes of epinephrine (trauma), and now this.
Fibromyalgia is just a syndrome, meaning they have no idea what it is, and is over-diagnosed in ppl who suffer idiopathic pain imo. I was lucky enough to have a rheumy who gave me the diagnosis of "centralized sensitization" instead of writing me off as having "FMS". This has helped my GP and I find a suitable treatment for my idiopathic pain. It is by no means gone, but it is also no longer crippling me. Don't let yourself be written off as "fibromyalgia, there's nothing we can do." There's more research out there than most doctors are aware of, and with said research comes more treatment options.0 -
thanks for posting!!!0
