Objectives: Fatigue and unrefreshing sleep are symptoms of fibromyalgia and part of its diagnostic criteria. The literature is inconsistent regarding the prevalence of sleep disorders in fibromyalgia. The purpose of the study was to determine if obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was more common in patients with fibromyalgia than in a general internal medicine clinic population. Methods: The records...

BACKGROUND Patients with fibromyalgia report persistent widespread pain, fatigue, and substantial functional limitations, which may lead to high health resource use (HRU) and lost productivity. Previous analyses of the U.S. population have not examined the direct and indirect costs of fibromyalgia by severity level. OBJECTIVES To assess (a) HRU, direct and indirect costs associated with fibro...

When your fibromyalgia patients arrive, does your heart sink? We want to show you how to understand these patients better, and make the experience of treating them more rewarding. Who are we? I am Baraa Alghalyini, a family physician who wants to pilot an interprofessional approach to fibromyalgia management. Margaret Oldfield, a researcher, wants to share her experience of beating fibromyalgia...

Fibromyalgia, a syndrome characterized by widespread pain and diffuse tenderness, is considered a multifactorial disorder. Central nervous system sensitization is a major pathophysiological aspect of fibromyalgia, while various external stimuli such as infection, trauma and stress may contribute to development of the syndrome. In addition, current evidence points towards the existence of a gene...

Fibromyalgia is a common, disabling syndrome that includes chronic widespread pain plus diverse additional symptoms. No specific objective abnormalities have been identified, which precludes definitive testing, disease-modifying treatments, and identification of causes. In contrast, small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN), despite causing similar symptoms, is definitionally a disease caused by the dy...

BACKGROUND Leading theories about the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia focus on central nervous dysregulation or sensitization, which can cause altered perception. There is growing evidence that fibromyalgia involves altered perception not only of pain, but also other sensory stimuli. On this basis, we investigated whether individuals with fibromyalgia are more likely to report subjective loss of h...

Fibromyalgia is considered a stress-related disorder, and hypo- as well as hyperactive stress systems (sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) have been found. Some observations raise doubts on the view that alterations in these stress systems are solely responsible for fibromyalgia symptoms. Cumulative evidence points at dysfunctional transmitter systems that may un...

As the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia continues to raise debate, multiple putative triggers have been implicated. The current review summarizes the available data linking fibromyalgia to either infection or vaccination. Multiple infectious agents have been associated with the development of either full-blown fibromyalgia (e.g. hepatits C), or with symptom complexes extensively overlapping with th...

Background Patients living with fibromyalgia strongly prefer to access health information on the web. However, the majority of subjects in previous studies strongly expressed their concerns about the quality of online information resources. Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate existing online fibromyalgia information resources for content, quality and readability by using stand...

OBJECTIVES Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. Its prevalence is estimated to be at 3.4% in women and 0.5% in men. It is a major cause of morbidity. Our objective was to evaluate, using a self-questionnaire sent by mail, the level of knowledge of French physicians, general practitioners, and rheumatologists on fibromyalgia and to anal...