Studies in recent years have provided tremendous advances
in treatment & prevention from complications of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia research and clinical trials offer hopeful
insights and innovative treatments that can help patients get rid of this disorder in a reasonably short period of time.
Ongoing fibromyalgia research is important because until recently, most doctors and insurance companies did
not recognize fibromyalgia as an illness. That meant is you were disabled by fibromyalgia syndrome, you could not
collect Workers Compensation benefits. Many insurance policies also declined the condition.
Most of the research is related to the central nervous system which appears to be malfunctioning. This
central nervous system dysfunction includes the spinal cord & brain. There are many abnormalities that relate to the
peripheral soft tissue (muscles and connective tissue) and the peripheral nervous system with the CNS. But researchers are
investigating further on the problems related to the CNS and peripheral system functions.
Research on the central nervous system & fibromyalgia:
1. Alteration in certain chemical transmitters that are related to pain was found in spinal fluid.
2. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, a substance that forms a communication link between your body’s immune
and neurological systems was found in an increased level in much of the research.
3. The blood flow and metabolic processes in the brain was found to be significantly disturbed while
researching different brain imaging techniques.
4. During research it was found that their sleep was increasingly disturbed making them restless and
fatigued in the morning.
5. Improper functioning of autonomic nervous system was found.
6. In one of the researches on the primary pain symptoms on the spinal cord showed that this is not
filtering out or dampening incoming noxious signals from the peripheral tissues.
7. In much of the research, memory function tests were conducted on people with fibromyalgia, which
indicated they have impaired ability to concentrate.
Brain dopamine plays a role in pleasure, motivation and motor control and recent research indicates that it
is also involved in pain modulation. McGill University Center conducted a study on pain which showed the first direct
evidence that fibromyalgia patients have an abnormal dopamine response to pain. Thus it was found that fibromyalgia might
involve a disturbance in dopaminergic neurotransmission resulting in depression, anxiety & so on.
With current research, doctors are able to analyze this disorder more fully and prescribe proper treatment to cure or rescind
fibromyalgia.
Fact Other Common Symptoms - Premenstrual syndrome and painful periods, chest
pain, morning stiffness, numbness and tingling sensations, muscle twitching, irritable bladder, the feeling of swollen
extremities, skin sensitivities, dry eyes and mouth, dizziness, and impaired coordination may occur. Fibromyalgia patients
are often sensitive to odors, loud noises, bright lights, and sometimes even the medications they are prescribed. ~ AFSA
