| 'Fibrofog' doesn't portend Alzheimer's |
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International news
Friday 13 December 2013
From Clinical Psychiatry News:
Good news: ‘fibrofog’ doesn’t portend Alzheimer’s
By: BRUCE JANCIN, Clinical Psychiatry News Digital Network
SAN DIEGO – ‘Fibrofog’ – the cognitive dysfunction experienced by up to 80% of fibromyalgia patients – is not an early harbinger of Alzheimer’s disease, Dr. Robert S. Katz asserted at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
The problems with memory, concentration, language, and thinking, collectively known as fibrofog, affect fibromyalgia patients in their 20s-50s. The onset is typically more sudden and dramatic than with classic forms of dementia. As fibrofog becomes chronic, many affected fibromyalgia patients – fearing the worst – worry they are on a road to Alzheimer’s disease in middle age.
Not so, according to Dr. Katz, professor of medicine at Rush Medical College, Chicago.
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| Dr Richard Kwiatek facilitates more, important research: Can you help? |
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South Australian news
Thursday 12 December 2013
ME/CFS Australia (SA) Inc is pleased to support this new research program, to be facilitated by our highly regarded, local specialist, Dr Richard Kwiatek.
From Dr Kwiatek:
You may be aware, last week the official opening of the NCNED signalled a major positive turning point for research and eventually treatment of ME/CFS in Australia.
The establishment of the online NCNED Australian Registry for CFS/ME heralds the start of an exciting nationwide co-ordinated research program investigating this debilitating disease.
As mentioned by Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik on RN Breakfast on 3/12/13, the NCNED is establishing links in Adelaide, and I have been approached to facilitate this process.
The NCNED's current research direction is one of trying to validate (prove that) the immune abnormalities the Centre has found in ME/CFS as being (are) unique to the syndrome.
The NCNED is specifically seeking healthy controls, male or female, who are 18 to 70 years old, who are NOT biologically related to ME/CFS sufferers (that is, spouses, partners or friends), who do not smoke, and who do not have any history of autoimmune disease (including thyroid disease or pernicious anaemia/B12 deficiency).
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| Prevalence of CFS in youth is focus of Chicago-based study |
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International news
Wednesday 11 December 2013
From DePaul University:
Leonard A. Jason
(Photo: DePaul University)
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Prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome in youth is focus of Chicago-based study
NIH-funded research is led by DePaul University psychologist Leonard A. Jason
CHICAGO — The prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome in children and the significant impairment it causes to their physical functioning, school attendance and performance, and extracurricular activities, are at the root of a new Chicago-based study led by DePaul University psychologist Leonard A. Jason.
The five-year study aims to determine the prevalence of pediatric chronic fatigue syndrome in a community based sample of more than 20,000 Chicago area youth ages 5 to 17. The $2 million research is funded by the National Institutes of Health Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Children Health and Human Development.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is an illness that affects close to 1 million Americans, costing the U.S. economy in excess of $20 billion each year, according to Jason. The most prominent disabling symptoms are post-exertional malaise, memory and concentration problems, and unrefreshing sleep. Persons with chronic fatigue syndrome are as functionally impaired as those with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, multiple sclerosis and end-stage renal disease, he said.
The new study also will explore whether the cases of pediatric chronic fatigue syndrome from the community sample signal differences from healthy youth on a variety of measures, including predisposing and precipitating risk factors such as exposure to mononucleosis, immunizations, relatives with chronic fatigue syndrome health risk status, and other environmental factors.
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| Immune abnormalities in patients meeting new diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS |
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International news
Tuesday 10 December 2013
From ProHealth:
Immune Abnormalities in Patients Meeting New Diagnostic Criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
By E.K. Brenu et al. • www.ProHealth.com • December 8, 2013
Editor's Comment: The authors of this study state that "[t]his is the first study to examine whether immunological differences may be found among patients fulfilling different diagnostic criteria for CFS/ME, according to the 1994 CDC and ICC. The findings indicate that the ICC is invaluable in identifying immunological differences that have consistently been shown to be decreased in CFS/ME patients diagnosed with the 1994 CDC."
Apart from its finding that the ICC is invaluable for identifying immune system abnormalities in patients with CFS/ME, this study demonstrates that objective measurements of immune system markers are essential for diagnosing the illness. The authors also found that "CFS/ME is not necessarily associated with irregular distribution of lymphocyte subtypes but rather deregulation of intricate functional capacities of these immune lymphocytes. It is important to consider in the interpretation of the findings that a relationship between immunological parameters and physical health does not imply causality but supports the hypothesis that some CFS/ME patients have an underlying immune mechanism contributing to their illness."
In short, this study provides concrete evidence that CFS/ME, at least for a subset of patients, is the product of an immune system disorder.
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| Vibration massage by deep oscillations for Fibromyalgia |
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International news
Monday 9 December 2013
From ProHealth:
Vibration Massage by Deep Oscillations for Fibromyalgia
www.ProHealth.com • December 5, 2013
Editor's Comment: German researchers assessed the safety and effectiveness of treatment with vibration massage using a deep oscillation device for fibromyalgia. The technique is currently used by physiotherapists but also promoted for home-based self-application to stimulate the absorption of edema and reduce pain, as well as for its anti-inflammatory and antifibrous effects. However, it's safety and effectiveness for fibromyalgia had not been previously studied.
Sixty-three FM patients completed the trial. They received 45-minute treatments twice a week over a five-week period. Forty-one of the patients reported a total of 63 mild and short-lasting adverse events – mostly a worsening of prevalent FM symptoms. However, overall symptoms and quality of life were significantly improved at both the control and follow-up visits. The researchers concluded that vibration massage by deep oscillations is safe and and might provide sustained improvement in FM symptoms and quality of life.
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| Alcohol as treatment for Fibromyalgia? |
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International news
Sunday 8 December 2013
From About.com:
Alcohol as Treatment for Fibromyalgia?
By Adrienne Dellwo
December 6, 2013
Have you ever turned to alcohol trying to relieve your fibromyalgiasymptoms? It's a possibly dangerous and probably controversial topic, but some researchers are putting it out there.
A new paper from Tufts University asks the question of whether alcohol could be an alternative treatment for us. The researchers behind it base their inquiry on two things:
- A study released earlier this year, and
- Alcohol's impact on pain pathways and the neurotransmitter GABA.
I wrote about the earlier study back in March. Basically, when looking at self-reported alcohol consumption in people with fibromyalgia, researchers linked moderate alcohol use with lower pain levels and better quality of life. (More alcohol did not mean more relief!)
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| David and Goliath, or, the Sick and the Bureaucracy |
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International news
Saturday 7 December 2013
From the White House Chronicle:
David and Goliath, or, the Sick and the Bureaucracy
By Llewellyn King
Published December 6, 2013 – 10:09 am
Malcolm Gladwell, the New Yorker writer, has grown rich with a series of books exploring the sociological dimensions of success and failure. In his latest, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants,” Gladwell celebrates the many Davids who triumphed over the odds because they were nimble and resourceful.
If he wants to observe a classic David-versus-Goliath rumble, Gladwell might want to go to Washington on Tuesday (Dec. 10). He will see a frail woman go up against the federal government with a humble petition and a small following of mostly very sick people.
Her name is Susan Kreutzer and she suffers from the debilitating and mysterious disease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, which is the name patients favor.
Kreutzer and others will begin their demonstration at 9a.m. outside the headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services on Independence Avenue, where she will hand over a petition. Then she will move up the street to Capitol Hill to demonstrate and hand-deliver petitions to members of Congress. She will end her day of petitioning her government outside the White House.
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