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Fibromyalgia Community Newsletter #20
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Subscription update: 1574 members and 46 new members.
Welcome!
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Co-Cure announcement: Article on Prognosis for CFIDS & Fibromyalgia
Many CFIDS and fibromyalgia patients improve over time. This week's feature
article at the CFIDS/Fibromyalgia Self-Help website offers some ideas about how
to tilt the odds in your favor:
http://CFIDSselfhelp.org
AOL users: <a href="http://www.CFIDSselfhelp.org">Read it here</a>
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Featured link: Test your knowledge about FMS and ME
ME quiz:
http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/whchfatigue.htm
AOL users: <a href="http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/whchfatigue.htm">Read
it here</a>
FMS quiz:
http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/whfibromy.htm
AOL users: <a href="http://quiz.ivillage.com/health/tests/whfibromy.htm">Read
it here</a>
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This week's news:
1) Headache help from Devin Starlanyl, MD
2) Solving the COX Conundrum
3) Chat Transcript: The Role of Intracellular Bacterial and Viral Infection in
Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment
4) Chronic Pain Art Exhibit - Sacramento, CA
5) Sleep organization launches new website
6) "Is holistic healthcare for me?"
7) Tired, aching, ANA-positive: does your patient have lupus or fibromyalgia?
8) Association Found Between Vaccinations, Medications, and Health Problems of
Gulf War Vets
9) Mediators of inflammation and their interaction with sleep: relevance for
chronic fatigue syndrome and related conditions
10) Gender differences in fibromyalgia and other related syndromes
11) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Muscle Strengthening versus Flexibility
Training in Fibromyalgia
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1) Headache help from Devin Starlanyl, MD
There are many possible causes of headache. For people with the hyper aroused
autonomic nervous system of FMS, sensitivity to noise, cold, heat and light can
add to our headache woes.
Read the article at
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?id=3532
AOL users: <a href="http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?id=3532">Read
it here</a>
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2) Solving the COX Conundrum
Source: University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
04/18/2002
How the balancing act between two forms of the cyclooxygenase enzyme protects
the heart
(Philadelphia, PA) - Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a pharmacologically important
enzyme that has a role in blood clotting and inflammation. The relationship
between its two major forms and their products, however, has been largely
undefined. In the April 19th issue of the journal Science, researchers at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine explain the balanced relationship
between two products of the cyclooxygenases - prostacyclin (PGI2) and
thromboxane (TxA2) - and their potential relevance to cardiovascular disease and
the effects of selective inhibitors of COX-2, such as Merck's Vioxx (R) and
Pharmacia / Upjohn's Celebrex (R).
Check it out:
http://www.acurian.com/patient/content/detail.jsp?id=0900744b80019d80&cd=FEATURE&camp=mlnewshtml
AOL users: <a href="http://www.acurian.com/patient/content/detail.jsp?id=0900744b80019d80&cd=FEATURE&camp=mlnewshtml">Read
it here</a>
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3) Chat Transcript: The Role of Intracellular Bacterial and Viral Infection in
Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment
By Dr. Garth Nicolson
Date : 05-01-2002 (C) 2002 Pro Health, Inc., Publisher of www.ImmuneSupport.com.
All Rights Reserved.
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Introduction:
Dr. Nicolson is the President, Chief Scientific Officer and a Research Professor
at the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Huntington Beach, California.
He is engaged in research on the role of chronic infections in a variety of
illnesses, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Gulf War Illness and various autoimmune diseases.
Chronic, fatiguing, autoimmune illnesses and other chronic conditions, are often
associated with a variety of infections. These infections can be the cause of
the disease, a cofactor in the disease, or simply an opportunistic infection
that causes patient morbidity.
Read the Full Chat Transcript at:
http://www.cfsresearch.org/cfs/research/linkschronic/2nf.htm
AOL users: <a href="http://www.cfsresearch.org/cfs/research/linkschronic/2nf.htm">Read
it here</a>
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4) Chronic Pain Art Exhibit - Sacramento, CA Planning has begun for a touring
museum art exhibit that focuses on art from artists with chronic pain with their
art expressing some facet of the pain experience. It is called the Chronic Pain
Visual Arts Project.
Each year an estimated 86 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. The
effects of chronic pain are often misunderstood by those who have never
experienced it. The pain exhibit will educate the public through the poignancy
of art.
Mark Collen is coordinating the exhibit and has established a relationship with
the California Assembly of Local Art Agencies, or CALAA, a non-profit agency in
San Francisco. CALAA is serving as the fiscal manager and umbrella agency, and
all contributions for the exhibit are tax-deductible.
Art museums across California, the U.S. and world will be invited to host the
pain exhibit. All artists with chronic pain who have art expressing some facet
of the pain experience are encouraged to contact Mark Collen at mrc-@juno.com.
Any volunteers and experienced curators interested in assisting with this
project, or anyone interested in supporting this effort in any way please send
an email to mrc-@juno.com.
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5) Sleep organization launches new website
The International Sleep Medicine Association is excited to announce the launch
of its new website, www.1sleep.com.
AOL users: <a href="http://www.1sleep.com">Read it here</a>
1sleep.com is the first and only international sleep portal on the Internet.
It brings together professionals, corporations and the general public from
around the world who seek information and knowledge about sleep health and sleep
disorders.
In celebration of the new website, membership to the International Sleep
Medicine Association is currently free to all individuals who register online.
The website features a comprehensive source of references and utilities designed
to help you find what you are looking for in the sleep medicine and research
fields.
Featured on the website are:
- Online video lectures on sleep
- Chat rooms
- Message boards
- Classified ads (for sale, jobs, wanted...)
- 1000's of page links of information on sleep apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia,
restless legs, PLMS and more.
- Equipment directories and product reviews
- Sleep in the news
- Multi-engine search utility
- Sleep bookstore
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6) "Is holistic healthcare for me?"
An increasing body of research suggests patients with chronic problems like
fibromyalgia and PMS may benefit from lower tech, complementary and alternative
systems and treatments. Read Dr. Tobler's column at:
http://www.welljournal.com/n6/t1.htm
AOL users: <a href="http://www.welljournal.com/n6/t1.htm">Read
it here</a>
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7) Tired, aching, ANA-positive: does your patient have lupus or fibromyalgia?
Journal: Cleve Clin J Med 2002 Feb;69(2):143-6, 151-2 Author: Blumenthal DE.
Affiliation: Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, The Cleveland
Clinic Foundation, OH 44195, USA.
NLM Citation: PMID: 11990644
The symptoms of fibromyalgia and lupus can be similar, but the treatments are
very different. Although the antinuclear antibody (ANA) test has often been used
to make the distinction, this approach has its pitfalls.
This paper offers strategies for more accurate diagnosis.
The complete article is available for free in PDF format at
http://www.ccjm.org/pdffiles/Blumental202.pdf
AOL users: <a href="http://www.ccjm.org/pdffiles/Blumental202.pdf">Read
it here</a>
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8) Association Found Between Vaccinations, Medications, and Health Problems of
Gulf War Vets
MANHATTAN - Take pyridostigmine bromide pills, mix with several vaccinations
received at the same time - including anthrax - many of which contained mercury
as a preservative, blend with inaccurate shot records, add a lack of rest,
sprinkled with a dash of stressful conditions and you have the recipe for a
"significant association" between subsequent declines in subjective health
experiences and Gulf War veterans. That's the conclusion in a report released by
researchers at Kansas State University.
Read the complete article at
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?ID=3545
AOL users: <a href="http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?ID=3545">Read
it here</a>
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9) Mediators of inflammation and their interaction with sleep: relevance for
chronic fatigue syndrome and related conditions
Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci 2001 Mar;933:201-10 Authors: Mullington JM,
Hinze-Selch D, Pollmacher T.
Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
mailto:jmul-@caregroup.harvard.edu NLM Citation: PMID: 12000021
In humans, activation of the primary host defense system leads to increased or
decreased NREM sleep quality, depending on the degree of early immune
activation.
Modest elevations of certain inflammatory cytokines are found during
experimental sleep loss in humans and, in addition, relatively small elevations
of cytokines are seen following commencement of pharmacological treatments with
clozapine, a CNS active antipsychotic agent, known to have immunomodulatory
properties.
Cytokines such as TNF-alpha, its soluble receptors, and IL-6, present in the
periphery and the CNS, comprise a link between peripheral immune stimulation and
CNS-mediated behaviors and experiences such as sleep, sleepiness, and fatigue.
The debilitating fatigue experienced in chronic fatigue syndrome and related
diseases may also be related to altered cytokine profiles.
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10) Gender differences in fibromyalgia and other related syndromes
J Gend Specif Med 2002 Mar-Apr;5(2):42-7 Yunus MB.
Section of Rheumatology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, 1
Illini Dr, PO Box 1649, Peoria, IL 61656, USA. yun-@uic.edu PMID: 11974674
Fibromyalgia syndrome is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain,
fatigue, poor sleep, and tenderness on palpation at multiple sites called tender
points. It occurs mostly among women; only about 10% of patients are men.
Two recent studies showed that women had significantly more common fatigue,
morning fatigue, "hurt all over," a greater total number of symptoms, as well as
a greater number of tender points.
Gender differences have also been reported in other related syndromes such as
tension headache, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome,
and temporomandibular disorder.
Although the mechanisms of gender differences in these illnesses are not fully
understood, they are likely to involve an interaction between biology,
psychology, and sociocultural factors.
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11) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Muscle Strengthening versus Flexibility
Training in Fibromyalgia
J Rheumatol 2002;29:1041-8 From the Schools of Nursing and Medicine at The
Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Supported by an Individual National Research Service Award (#1F31 NR07337-01A1)
from the National Institutes of Health, a doctoral dissertation grant (#2324938)
from the Arthritis Foundation, and funds from the Oregon Fibromyalgia
Foundation.
K.D. Jones, RN, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; C.S. Burckhardt,
RN, PhD, Professor, School of Nursing, Assistant Professor (Research), School of
Medicine; S.R. Clark, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Assistant
Professor (Research), School of Medicine; R.M. Bennett, MD, FRCP, Professor,
School of Medicine; K.M. Potempa, RN, DNSc, FAAN, Professor and Dean, School of
Nursing.
Address reprint requests to Dr. K. Dupree Jones, School of Nursing, Mail Code
SN-5S, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road,
Portland, OR 97201, USA. E-mail: jone-@ohsu.edu
Submitted March 13, 2001; revision accepted November 6, 2001.
ABSTRACT.
Objective. To determine the effectiveness of a muscle strengthening program
compared to a stretching program in women with fibromyalgia (FM).
Methods. Sixty-eight women with FM were randomly assigned to a 12 week, twice
weekly exercise program consisting of either muscle strengthening or stretching.
Outcome measures included muscle strength (main outcome variable), flexibility,
weight, body fat, tender point count, and disease and symptom severity scales.
Results. No statistically significant differences between groups were found on
independent t tests. Paired t tests revealed twice the number of significant
improvements in the strengthening group compared to the stretching group. Effect
size scores indicated that the magnitude of change was generally greater in the
strengthening group than the stretching group.
Conclusion. Patients with FM can engage in a specially tailored muscle
strengthening program and experience an improvement in overall disease activity,
without a significant exercise induced flare in pain. Flexibility training alone
also results in overall improvements, albeit of a lesser degree. (J Rheumatol
2002;29:1041-8)
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