Fibromyalgia, mood disorders, cognitive test results, cognitive symptoms and quality of life in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: Cognitive dysfunction, and comorbidities such as mood disorder and fibromyalgia, are common in SLE. This study aims to explore the associations between fibromyalgia, mood disorders, cognitive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in SLE patients, and their impact on quality of life.

Methods: We tested cognition in SLE patients and healthy controls, and evaluated cognitive symptoms, mood disorder, fibromyalgia, fatigue and quality of life using patient-reported outcome measures.

All-cause and cause-specific mortality in persons with fibromyalgia and widespread pain: An observational study in 35,248 persons with rheumatoid arthritis, non-inflammatory rheumatic disorders and clinical fibromyalgia.

Purpose: Studies of the relation of fibromyalgia (FM) and widespread pain (WSP) to mortality have differed as to the presence or absence of an association and the extent of cause-specific mortality. However, no studies have investigated which definitions of FM and WSP associate with mortality, nor of FM mortality in other diseases. We investigated these issues and the meaning of mortality in patients with FM.

The Relation of Physical Comorbidity and Multimorbidity to Fibromyalgia, Widespread Pain, and Fibromyalgia-related Variables.

Objective: To investigate the relation of physical (non-psychological) comorbidity and multimorbidity to quantitative measures of fibromyalgia (FM) and musculoskeletal pain.

Methods: We studied 12,215 patients in a research databank with quantitative measures of FM-related variables (FMV) that included binary determinations of FM and widespread pain (WSP), and constituent variables of FM diagnosis that included the WSP index (WPI), the symptom severity score (SSS), and the polysymptomatic distress scale (PSD). We assessed self-reported comorbid conditions and covariates that included age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, smoking history, and total household income.

Fibromyalgia has a high prevalence and impact in cardiac failure patients.

Objective: Chronic cardiac failure (CCF) shares several clinical features with fibromyalgia (FM), a syndrome of increased central sensitivity and musculoskeletal pain. FM frequently coexists with other chronic illness. Musculoskeletal pain is reported in patients with CCF; however, the prevalence and impact of FM in patients with CCF is not known.

Fibromyalgia remains a significant burden in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Australia.

Aim: High rates of fibromyalgia (FM) are reported in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Advances in RA management have occurred, but information regarding current significance of FM in RA is limited. This investigation estimated the prevalence and health effects of concomitant FM in Australian RA patients.

Is there a role for opioids in the treatment of fibromyalgia?

The use of opioids for chronic pain has increased significantly due to a combination of the high patient burden of pain and the more widespread availability of a range of long-acting opioid preparations. This increased opioid use has translated into the care of many patients with fibromyalgia. The pain mechanism in fibromyalgia is complex but does not seem to involve disturbance of opioid analgesic functions.

GILZ: Glitzing up our understanding of the glucocorticoid receptor in psychopathology.

Dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, particularly the glucocorticoid receptor, is a commonly implicated link between stress and psychopathology. GR abnormalities are frequently reported in depression, and these anomalies must be resolved before depressive symptoms remit. This biological finding is rendered clinically relevant by the knowledge that only select antidepressants alter GR function.

Clinical characteristics of 150 consecutive fibromyalgia patients attending an Australian public hospital clinic.

Aim: To describe clinical characteristics of fibromyalgia in an Australian population.

Method: Data was collected from 150 consecutive patients with clinical features of fibromyalgia seen in an Australian public hospital clinic. Demographic information and clinical characteristics were recorded.

The use of opioids in fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder of widespread pain with high personal and societal burdens. Although targeted pharmacotherapies have become available in recent years, it remains a challenging condition to treat. Despite no randomized controlled trials addressing the short- or long-term use of opioids in FMS, their use remains prevalent.

Fibromyalgia. Diagnosis and management.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a common chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome, however its characteristics, diagnosis and management have not always been well understood. There is now increasing understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of fibromyalgia and development of more effective management strategies.

Objective: To explain the characteristics and diagnostic features of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia syndrome: which antidepressant drug should we choose.

Fibromyalgia syndrome [FM] has core clinical features of widespread pain and widespread abnormal tenderness. The specific cause of the altered neurophysiology that underpins these clinical manifestations remains unclear. However, increased sensitisation of neural networks that relates to pain, as well as interacting mechanoreceptors, appear important targets for modulation by pharmacological agents.

Treatment of fatigue in fibromyalgia.

Clearly, fatigue is a large and challenging problem for those suffering from fibromyalgia. It adds greatly to the morbidity and disability associated with the disease. In the management of this specific symptom in fibromyalgia, attention should first be focused on identifying comorbidities that may be present and contribute to fatigue.