[The possible uses of balneotherapy in treating chronic venous insufficiency of lower limbs].

The Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) of inferior limbs is a widespread disease, with an increasing incidence as a consequence of longer life expectance, life-style, obesity, smoking, use of drugs as oestrogens and progestins and working conditions. Medical therapy is still lacking for evidence of efficacy, and compression therapy is useful only in preventing a worsening of this condition. Surgical treatment is the only radical therapy effective for the advanced phases of the disease.

Autonomic dysfunction and neuropeptide Y in fibromyalgia.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome associated with widespread pain and various other signs and symptoms. Several of these multisystem features could be explained on the basis of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction.

Methods: The aim of the present study was to evaluate ANS dysfunction in FM based on time-domain heart rate variability (HRV) analysis and serum neuropeptide Y (NPY) levels in 51 patients with FM, 25 patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 15 healthy controls (NHS).