Fibromyalgia and chronic hepatitis C infection share many clinical features including prominent somatic complaints such as musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. There is a growing body of evidence supporting a link between cytokines and somatic complaints. This review discusses alterations of cytokines in fibromyalgia, including increased serum levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-2 receptor, IL-8, IL-...

OBJECTIVE Fibromyalgia patients frequently report cognitive abnormalities. As the hippocampus plays an important role in learning and memory, we determined whether individuals with fibromyalgia had smaller hippocampal volume compared with healthy control participants. METHODS T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired from 40 female participants with fibromyal...

OBJECTIVES To study the effects of a 3-month multidisciplinary intervention based on exercise and psychological therapy on symptomatology and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia. METHODS Seventy-five women with fibromyalgia volunteered to participate and were allocated to a 3-month (3-times/week) multidisciplinary (pool, land-based and psychological session based on the Acceptance and ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of passive body heating on the sleep patterns of patients with fibromyalgia. METHODS Six menopausal women diagnosed with fibromyalgia according to the criteria determined by the American College of Rheumatology were included. All women underwent passive immersion in a warm bath at a temperature of 36 ±1 °C for 15 sessions of 30 minutes each over a period of thre...

BACKGROUND Fibromyalgia has a plethorae of symptoms, which can be confusing and even misleading. Accurate evaluation is necessary when patients with fibromyalgia are treated. Different types of instruments are available for the clinicians to supplement evaluation. Our objective was to study the applicability of the PainDETECT instrument to screen neuropathic pain in patients with fibromyalgia. ...

OBJECTIVE Two recent reports have found associations between fibromyalgia and sexual victimization, but had methodologic characteristics that limited their interpretation. METHOD We compared 36 patients with fibromyalgia and 33 patients with rheumatoid arthritis by using structured interviews for sexual, physical, and emotional victimization histories, as well as dimensional self-report measu...

OBJECTIVE To define the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and fibromyalgia syndrome. METHODS This is a prospective cohort study for description of a medical disorder. The study was carried out in Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May 2007 to March 2010. One hundred women suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome were included. Blood level of 25-hy...

The subjective experience of cognitive dysfunction ("fibrofog") is common in fibromyalgia. This study investigated the relation between subjective appraisal of cognitive function, objective cognitive task performance, and brain activity during a cognitive task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sixteen fibromyalgia patients and 13 healthy pain-free controls completed a battery ...

Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized as a chronic, painful, noninflammatory syndrome affecting the musculoskeletal system. In addition to pain, common co-morbid symptoms associated with FM include sleep disturbances, fatigue, morning stiffness, affective disorders, chronic daily headache, dyscognition, irritable bowel syndrome, and irritable bladder. Fibromyalgia is usually classified by applicat...

OBJECTIVE The role of vitamin D in the etiopathogenesis of fibromyalgia and non-specific musculoskeletal pain is controversial. In our study, we aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D therapy on quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 65 age- and sex-matched controls were included in the study. Patients were g...