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A new brain scan study concludes that Fibromyalgia (FM) is related to abnormalities
of blood flow in the brain.
Study author, Eric Guedj, MD, of Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de la Timone, said in
a news release from Marseille, France,
"Fibromyalgia may be related to a global dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing.
This study demonstrates that these patients exhibit modifications of brain perfusion
not found in healthy subjects and reinforces the idea that fibromyalgia is a
'real disease/disorder.'"
FM affects 2%-4% of people, mostly women. It has been called the "invisible
syndrome" because it can't be diagnosed based on a lab test or X-ray.
For this study, researchers took brain scans on 20 women with FM and 10 women without
the condition. Participants also answered questions to assess measures of pain,
disability, anxiety, and depression.
The brain imaging technique, called single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT),
is able to detect functional abnormalities in the brain.
Past imaging studies of patients with FM had shown abnormalities in cerebral blood
flow, also called brain perfusion. In some areas of the brain, blood flow was below
normal, and in some areas, it was above normal. In this study, by using whole-brain
scans on the participants, researchers were able to analyze how perfusion in each area
of the brain related to measures of pain, disability, anxiety, and depression.
Researchers confirmed that patients with FM exhibited brain perfusion abnormalities
in comparison to the healthy participants. These abnormalities corresponded with
the severity of the disease. An increase in blood flow was found in areas of the
brain involved in sensing pain and a decrease was found within an area thought to
be involved in emotional responses to pain.
There seemed to be no relationship between these abnormalities and presence of
depression or anxiety. "We found that these functional
abnormalities were independent of anxiety and depression status," Guedj says in
a news release.
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