“This latest judgment will set a precedent as it demonstrates powerfully and convincingly the importance and severity of fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndrome as disabilities,” said a release from law firm Singer Kwinter, [...] No related posts.]]> A woman has been awarded nearly $4 million by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for chronic pain and fibromyalgia syndrome.

“This latest judgment will set a precedent as it demonstrates powerfully and convincingly the importance and severity of fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndrome as disabilities,” said a release from law firm Singer Kwinter, which represented Diane Degennaro.

“This will demonstrate to the insurers, the public, and the legal system the severity of this disability and its implication on future judgments.”

According to the law firm, Degennaro was 30 years old when her son was admitted to a hospital. The woman was told she could sleep on a bed in the boy’s room, but when she sat on the end of it, it collapsed.

She fractured her tailbone and later developed fibromyalgia, which has caused chronic pain throughout her body.

She has been unable to return to work and doctors say she won’t be able to work in the future.

Source: Law Times, July 20, 2009

Originally posted 2009-12-10 07:00:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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The Missouri General [...] No related posts.]]> Fibromyalgia is a disorder which results in chronic widespread pain along with debilitating fatigue, abnormal sleep patterns, bowel disturbances and cognitive dysfunction. The cause of fibromyalgia is not known, but altered function of the central nervous system is thought to be a possible cause. Genetic disposition is also a possible cause.

The Missouri General Assembly will be considering legislation to create a state fibromyalgia awareness and outreach campaign.

The bill, sponsored by Representative Shalonn Curls, of Kansas City, would require the Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services to appoint, convene and support a voluntary Fibromyalgia Panel. The pane would have 2 directives:

1. Raise “at least $50,000” through private funding to mount a state fibromyalgia education and outreach campaign, targeting needs such as early diagnosis & treatment and improved quality of life, and in consultation with the National Fibromyalgia Association.
2. Work with other agencies at the state and local levels to promote delivery of Fibromyalgia education and training to doctors and other healthcare professionals.
The bill would also allow doctors, and others authorized to prescribe medication, to override restrictions on medications for treatment of fibromyalgia imposed by pharmacy benefit managers – in carefully defined circumstances and “to the extent that the Panel obtains private funding for the purpose.”

Originally posted 2008-03-03 18:37:39. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Dopamine is a chemical produced by the [...] No related posts.]]> A study published in the January, 2007 issue of The Journal of Pain found that there was a chemical difference between the brains of fibromyalgia patients and healthy ones. That difference is that fibromyalgia patients produce less dopamine in the areas of the brain that process pain.

Dopamine is a chemical produced by the body that acts as a neurotransmitter believed to be involved in behavior and cognition, voluntary movement, motivation and reward, sleep, mood, attention, and learning.

The study was very small, including only 6 female fibromyalgia patients to 8 healthy women of the same age. Brain activity was measured with a positron emission tomography tracer (PET), a nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body.

The PET scans showed reduced neural activity in several regions of the brain. The Researchers believe the reduced activity of dopamine neurons is caused by environmental factors (including chronic stress) and genetic factors.

Other studies have shown that fibromyalgia is linked with reductions in gray matter in the brain. The cause of this reduced gray matter was not understood.

Now a new study published in The Journal of Pain has found that dopamine may be the culprit in the reduction in gray matter.

Researchers from the Louisiana State University studied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of 30 women with fibromyalgia and compared these to 20 healthy women that were the same age.

Analysis confirmed earlier studies that found that fibromyalgia patients have reduced gray matter density. They also found that there was a significant relationship between dopamine levels and gray matter in those parts of the brain where dopamine acts as the neurotransmitter.
The report’s authors concluded that the relationship between dopamine levels and gray matter density provide new insights to a potential mechanism that explains some of the abnormal brain structure associated with fibromyalgia.

Originally posted 2009-09-18 07:00:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Researchers found that pain levels decreased when levels of glutamate went down. This discovery could lead to new drug therapies for treatment of fibromyalgia.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical [...] No related posts.]]> Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have discovered a link between the brain molecule glutamate, a neurotransmitter, and pain levels in fibromyalgia patients.

Researchers found that pain levels decreased when levels of glutamate went down. This discovery could lead to new drug therapies for treatment of fibromyalgia.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical in the brain that relays and amplifies information between neurons in the nervous system and other cells. When glutamate is released bya neuron, it attaches to receptors in the next neuron and causes that cell to become excited, or more active.

Glutamate was previously linked to fibromyalgia pain in studies that showed certain regions of the brain in fibromyalgia patients were highly excited. One of these regions is the insula.

In these previous studies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) had shown higher levels of brain activity in the insula in fibromyalgia patients. This led researchers at the University of Michigan to theorize that there may be a relationship between the level glutamate in the insula and the higher levels of activity there.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted clinical trials where fibromyalgia patients would receive acupuncture or sham acupuncture treatments. The sham acupuncture treatment was done using a sharp device to mimic real acupuncture. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed before, and after 4 weeks of treatment to gauge the link between pain and glutamate.

After 4 weeks of treatment, both the real and sham acupuncture treatments resulted in significant reduction of pain. The reduction in pain for both groups was linked to lower levels of glutamate in the insula. Those patients that reported greater reductions in pain also showed greater reductions in levels of glutamate.

“If these findings are replicated, investigators performing clinical treatment trials in fibromyalgia could potentially use glutamate as a ‘surrogate’ marker of disease response,” says lead author Richard E. Harris, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Michigan Medical School’s Department of Internal Medicine and a researcher at the University of Michigan Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center.

Dr. Harris also said that due to the small number of participants in this study further research was necessary.

The results of this study have been published in the current issue of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Originally posted 2008-03-10 17:55:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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TENS is the application of electrical current through the skin for pain control. This is usually done by connecting two or more electrodes [...] No related posts.]]> Most therapies for treating fibromyalgia are drug based. Unfortunately, there are adverse reactions that can result from them. Alternatives being researched include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and non-noxious, superficial warmth.

TENS is the application of electrical current through the skin for pain control. This is usually done by connecting two or more electrodes from a TENS unit to the skin.

A study was reported on earlier this year that focused on evaluating the amount of pain relief obtained by fibrolyalgia patients with use of TENS or non-noxious, superficial warmth.

The randomized study involved 32 female fibromyalgia patients that were divided into two groups. After being given instructions, the patients treated themselves with either a TENS device or a portable superficial heating device which heated to 108° F.

The patients would rate their pain level on a 0-100 scale before and after each treatment. After 3 weeks, the patients switched to the other form of treatment. After 6 weeks of treatment the patients completed a survey about the treatments and their therapy preference.

Overall, both treatments provided significant pain relief. The improvement using heat therapy was a pain level reduction from 77.5 before treatment to 62.5 after on the 0-100 scale. TENS treatment resulted in an improvement from 80 before treatment to 62.5 after.

Ten of the patients reported improvements of 20 points or more with TENS as did ten patients with heat. As far as preference, 10 of the 32 patients preferred the TENS treatment, whereas 17 preferred heat.

Results of the study were published in the June, 2009 issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Originally posted 2009-12-28 07:00:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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