Skip to main content

Brain Scans Suggest Pain of Fibromyalgia Isn't Imaginary.?

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter







THURSDAY, Oct. 4, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- People with fibromyalgia have widespread inflammation in their brains, new research reveals.

"Finding an objective neurochemical change in the brains of people who are used to being told that their problems are imaginary is pretty important," explained senior study author Marco Loggia. He is associate director of the Center for Integrative Pain Neuroimaging at Harvard Medical School.
The new research used an advanced imaging test called positron emission tomography (PET) and looked at 31 people with fibromyalgia and 27 healthy "controls" from Boston and Stockholm, Sweden.

Dr. Harry Gewanter, a master of the American College of Rheumatology, agreed the findings could bring comfort to patients.

"There's a heck of a lot of stigma associated with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia. I think it's going to make a lot of people feel much better to know that there are physiologic changes you can find," Gewanter said.

Fibromyalgia causes pain throughout the body, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition also causes sleep problems, fatigue and difficulty with thinking and memory.

The disorder affects about 4 million Americans, the CDC reports. The exact cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, though the researchers said it's likely a disease of the central nervous system. Medications and lifestyle modifications can help manage the condition.

All of the volunteers in the study underwent PET scans. Fibromyalgia patients in Boston were heavier than the healthy controls in Boston, and those in Stockholm with fibromyalgia. The researchers said this was the only significantly different variable between the two groups.

When the researchers compared the scans of people with fibromyalgia to healthy controls, they saw more inflammation in the immune cells of the brain (glia) in people with fibromyalgia.

Loggia said the findings might lead to better ways to test fibromyalgia treatments, to see if they reduce inflammation. It's also possible that this finding may eventually help researchers tease out the cause of the disorder.

Gewanter said this study gives scientists a number of possible directions to go. One is to be able to follow a treatment to see how well it works. Another is possibly developing ways to intervene with new treatments.

Now, treatment focuses on medication and lifestyle changes. According to the CDC, people with fibromyalgia are encouraged to try to exercise 30 minutes daily most days of the week. And establishing regular sleep habits can help, as can reducing stress as much as possible, perhaps using yoga or meditation.


The study was published recently in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

Resource: https://www.webmd.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fibromyalgia To Be Recognised as Long-Term Condition

Fibromyalgia is to be recognised by health professionals in Northern Ireland as a long-term condition. People who suffer from it complain of aches all over the body, as well as profound fatigue. Other symptoms include headaches, sleep deprivation and difficulty concentrating. Despite the severity of symptoms, people living with the condition in NI have said their voices have gone unheard and their symptoms ignored. Chronic aches After being inundated with complaints, the Patient and Client Council in Northern Ireland three years ago pressed the case for fibromyalgia to be recognised as a long-term condition. Having interviewed sufferers and lobbied politicians and health professionals, dedicated services are to be established across the health trusts. Image caption Martina Marks said she has had to live with pain for the last 10 years Martina Marks, who lives in County Down, said it was a relief to be taken seriously. "I have lived with the pain since 19...
Post a Comment
Read more

FDA Approves Clinical Trial to Test Treating Fibromyalgia With TB Vaccine

With the recent approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a human clinical trial is set to begin on BCG, a vaccine typically used to prevent tuberculosis, to treat  fibromyalgia . BCG, or Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, has been used since 1921 as a TB vaccine in countries with a high prevalence of TB. One particular type, or “species,” of BCG is also used to treat  bladder cancer . Some studies have shown promise in BCG’s ability to potentially  treat type 1  diabetes and  multiple sclerosis  by  enhancing the immune system’s  ability to fight its own diseased cells — a process known as immunotherapy. The trial is funded by EpicGenetics, a biomedical company that also manufactures a blood test for fibromyalgia called the FM/a Test.  Research by  physician and EpicGenetics CEO Bruce Gillis suggests that fibromyalgia is an immune system disorder that causes patients to have abnormal white blood cells that p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unrest Reviewed: The Award-Winning Documentary About Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

It’s not often that you see films covering conditions like fibromyalgia. And  Unrest , released in 2017, isn’t specifically about fibromyalgia. But if you take the time to follow the director of the film,  Jennifer Brea , along on her journey through the world of  chronic fatigue syndrome  (or  myalgic encephalomyelitis , as it’s referred to in the film), you’ll find that the film still has a lot of value for anyone with fibromyalgia. Chronic fatigue syndrome shares many similarities with fibromyalgia, and in the opening seconds of the film, the viewer is met with something that will be instantly recognizable to anyone with the condition: a heartbreaking and even visceral sequence where Brea struggles to crawl the few inches along the floor to her bed while she is racked with pain. It’s a powerful way to open a film about a devastating disease. The pain Brea is experiencing is clear on her face, and the dark circles under her ...
Post a Comment
Read more