Exploring pain mechanisms in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: A case-control study.

Background: The hypermobile type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is a heritable connective tissue disorder, associated with joint hypermobility and prominent chronic pain. Because experimental pain testing in hEDS is scarce, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood.

Objective: The present study assesses endogenous pain facilitation and pain inhibition in hEDS, using a protocol for temporal summation of pain (TSP), conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH).

Skin Temperature during Cold Pressor Test in Fibromyalgia: an Evaluation of the Autonomic Nervous System?

Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain disorder characterized by whole-body pain and multiple symptoms. This study investigated potential dysfunctions of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in FM patients through the measurement of the autonomic response during a cold-water test.

Methods: 23 female patients with FM and 15 healthy female controls were recruited.

Hypervigilance for innocuous tactile stimuli in patients with fibromyalgia: an experimental approach.

Background: Hypervigilance, i.e., excessive attention, is often invoked as a potential explanation for the observation that many individuals with fibromyalgia show a heightened sensitivity to stimulation in various sensory modalities, such as touch and hearing.

Fibromyalgia patients and controls are equally accurate in detecting tactile stimuli while observing another in pain: an experimental study.

This study investigated the effects of observing pain in others upon vicarious somatosensory experiences and the detection of somatosensory stimuli in both fibromyalgia (FM) patients and controls. The putative modulatory role of dispositional empathy, hypervigilance to pain, and central sensitization was examined. FM patients (n = 39) and controls (n = 38) saw videos depicting pain-related (hands being pricked) and non-pain-related scenes, while occasionally experiencing vibrotactile stimuli themselves on the left, right, or both hands.