| Call goes out for research on ME |
|
International news
Thursday 17 May 2012
From New Zealand's Auckland Now Eastern Courier:
Nikita Watson |
Call goes out for research on ME
Simon Smith
Last updated 05:00 25/04/2012
Nikita Watson had just turned three when she stopped being active and was tired and plagued with body pains.
Her mother Amber says it was a dramatic personality change that has lasted the past year and a half.
"She was my very, very active one – a lot of personality and a lot of a spunk.
"I used to feel like last year we'd lost her. We had lost the things that made her her."
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| ME/CFS appears to be a disease affecting the basal banglia and dopamine metabolism |
|
International news
Thursday 17 May 2012
From ProHealth:
 ME/CFS Appears to Be a Disease Affecting the Basal Ganglia & Dopamine Metabolism
ProHealth.com
April 24, 2012
A new study led by CDC investigator Elizabeth Unger, MD, PhD, with collaborators at Emory University, Atlanta, and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, has identified unique responses in the brain’s basal ganglia that suggest an association between a biologic functional response and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Oxidative stress linked to headache in Fibromyalgia; CoQ10 supports important improvement |
|
International news
Wednesday 16 May 2012
From PLoS One (via ProHealth):
 Oxidative stress linked to headache in Fibromyalgia; CoQ10 supports important improvement
ProHealth.com
April 22, 2012
Article:
Oxidative Stress Correlates with Headache Symptoms in Fibromyalgia: Coenzyme Q10 Effect on Clinical Improvement
– Source: PLoS One, Apr 19, 2012
By Mario D Cordero, et al.
[Note: The full text of this very important article is available free HERE. Oxidative stress is damage done to the fatty acids comprising cell membranes (like rust in a tin can) by unpaired electrons called free radicals, produced in excess of what the cells’ natural antioxidative processes can neutralize. Coenzyme Q10 and catalase are naturally occurring antioxidants. The study first compared measures of mitochondrial ATP production, oxidative stress, antioxidants and symptoms in FM patients vs healthy controls, then took measures of FM patients after supplementation with 300mg of CoQ10 [ubiquinone form] daily for 3 months. They conclude by stating: “Headache symptoms in FM could be a consequence of oxidative stress and both may share common pathophysiologic basis. Furthermore, CoQ10 treatment showed a remarkable improvement in clinical symptoms and headache in FM.”]
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| State of Washington MCS Proclamation |
|
International news
Wednesday 16 May 2012
 The State of Washington has issued a Proclamation for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Month:
The Proclamation reads:
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Study explores role of impaired sleep in Fibromyalgia pain |
|
International news
Tuesday 15 May 2012
From the American Pain Society (via Newswise):
 Study Explores Role of Impaired Sleep in Fibromyalgia Pain
Released: 4/23/2012 8:00 AM EDT
Source: American Pain Society
Newswise — GLENVIEW, Ill., April 23, 2012 – Patients coping with the complex pain disorder fibromyalgia often have difficulty sleeping, and a new study published in The Journal of Pain reports that despite the negative quality of life implications, poor sleep is not a significant predictor of fibromyalgia pain intensity and duration.
The complexity of fibromyalgia as a pain disorder is rooted in the variable, patient-to-patient, influence of physical, psychological, social factors that contribute to clinical pain, and their influence often is difficult to understand. Previous research has shown that variables such as negative mood and the number of localized pain areas are significant predictors of clinical pain in fibromyalgia patients.
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| North Carolina MCS Proclamation |
|
International news
Tuesday 15 May 2012
 Beverly Eaves Perdue, Governor of the State of North Carolina, has issued a Proclamation for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Month:
The Proclamation reads:
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Oxidative stress correlates with headache symptoms in Fibromyalgia: Coenzyme Q10 effect on clinical improvement |
|
International news
Monday 14 May 2012
From PLoS One:
Oxidative Stress Correlates with Headache Symptoms in Fibromyalgia: Coenzyme Q10 Effect on Clinical Improvement
Mario D. Cordero1,2*, Francisco Javier Cano-García3,Elísabet Alcocer-Gómez3, Manuel De Miguel2, José Antonio Sánchez-Alcázar1
1 Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Universidad Pablo de Olavide-CSIC-Junta de Andalucía and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), ISCIII, Sevilla, Spain, 2 Departmento Citología e Histología Normal y Patológica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain, 3 Departmento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamiento Psicológicos. Facultad de Psicología Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
Abstract
Background
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with unknown etiology and a wide spectrum of symptoms such as allodynia, debilitating fatigue, joint stiffness and migraine. Recent studies have shown some evidences demonstrating that oxidative stress is associated to clinical symptoms in FM of fibromyalgia. We examined oxidative stress and bioenergetic status in blood mononuclear cells (BMCs) and its association to headache symptoms in FM patients. The effects of oral coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on biochemical markers and clinical improvement were also evaluated.
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Cuyahoga County, Ohio MCS Proclamation |
|
International news
Monday 14 May 2012
 Cuyahoga County, Ohio has issued a Proclamation for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Month:
The Proclamation reads:
County Council of Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Resolution No. R2012-0011
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Miller, Simon, Conwell, Rogers and Connally
A Resolution proclaiming the month of May of each year as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Month in Cuyahoga County, and declaring the necessity that this Resolution become immediately effective.
WHEREAS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (CS) is a chronic condition induced by exposure to toxic environmental chemicals, causing symptoms such as burning or stinging eyes, wheezing or shortness of breath, nausea, extreme fatigue, headache, poor memory or concentration, runny nose, skin rashes, sensitivity to light and noise, digestive upset, muscle and joint pain, rapid heartbeat, anxiety, and sleeping problems, and
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Pregabalin (Lyrica) may support meaningful improvement in Fibromyalgia sleep maintenance |
|
International news
Sunday 13 May 2012
From ProHealth:
 Pregabalin (Lyrica) may support meaningful improvement in fibromyalgia sleep maintenance – Henry Ford Health study
ProHealth.com
April 20, 2012
Article:
Effect of pregabalin [brand name Lyrica] on sleep in patients with fibromyalgia and sleep maintenance disturbance: A randomized, placebo-controlled, 2-way crossover polysomnography study
- Source: Arthritis Care & Research, April 2012
By Thomas Roth, PhD, et al.
[Ed Note: Wake after sleep onset (WASO) was measured. This “quantifies the night time minutes spent awake after falling into a persistent sleep state, and is considered one of the key sleep parameters for characterizing the effect of a hypnotic [sleep-inducing] drug.” In this study the average reduction in minutes of wake after sleep onset for FM patients taking a daily pregabalin dose of 300mg to 450mg was 19.2 minutes. Additionally, average total sleep time was 25.5 minutes greater for the pregabalen group – 6.6 hours vs 6.2 for placebo group. See a MedPage Today physician CME summary for details on other measures not mentioned in the abstract (http://www.medpagetoday.com/clinical-context/Fibromyalgia/31924.)
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Pfizer halts late-stage Lyrica study |
|
International news
Sunday 13 May 2012
From Boston.com:
 Pfizer halts late-stage study into new Lyrica use
Associated Press
May 04, 2012
Pfizer halted a late-stage study of its second-best selling drug, Lyrica, as a possible treatment for a nerve pain in HIV patients.
The world’s largest drugmaker said Friday it was studying the drug in patients with HIV neuropathy, which is nerve damage characterized by burning pain that usually starts in the feet. An early analysis of study data showed that pain symptom improvements were nearly identical to those patients treated with a placebo.
No safety concerns were raised in the study, and Pfizer said it will continue to analyze the initial results.
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Perceptions of painful stimuli are not 'exaggerated' in Fibromyalgia patients |
|
International news
Saturday 12 May 2012
From ProHealth:
Perceptions of painful stimuli are not 'exaggerated' in fibromyalgia patients
ProHealth.com
April 18, 2012
Article:
Behavioral and neuronal investigations of hypervigilance in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome
– Source: PloS One, April 11, 2012
By Laura Tiermann, et al.
[Note: This controlled study suggests that - though fibromyalgia patients tend to experience more pain than others and often suspect they may be hyperattentive to pain - when equally painful stimuli are applied they do not consciously exaggerate or pay abnormally increased attention to the pain by comparison with healthy control subjects; nor do their brains exaggerate the severity of the inflicted pain vs controls. To read the free full text PDF of this article, click HERE.]
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Sub-typing daily fatigue progression in CFS |
|
International news
Saturday 12 May 2012
From the Journal of Mental Health (via Informa Healthcare):
 Sub-typing daily fatigue progression in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Posted online on May 1, 2012. (doi:10.3109/09638237.2012.670879)
Leonard A. Jason & Molly M. Brown
Center for Community Research, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA
Correspondence: Leonard Jason, PhD, Center for Community Research, DePaul University, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 3100, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
Tel: +001 773 325 2018.
Fax: +001 773 325 4923.
E-mail: ljason@depaul.
Background
Activity logs involve patients writing down their activities and symptoms over 1 or more days.
Aims
This study sought to classify daily fatigue patterns among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) using activity logs.
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome |
|
Australian news
Friday 11 May 2012
From Australian radio station 612 ABC Brisbane:
Karryn Crimmin |
Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
10 May 2012, 2:25 PM by Terri Begley
Every now and again you and I might struggle out of bed....not together of course... but you know what I mean.
We've all felt tired, bone weary...but what if that was how you felt all the time?
Utterly exhausted, unable to move.
Saturday May 12th is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness day, that date is chosen because it's Florence Nightingale's birthday and she was bedridden in her later years due to CFS.
In Australia an estimated 180,000 people have the condition and the majority are women.
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
| Multiple Chemical Sensitivity – Deborah's story |
|
International news
Friday 11 May 2012
From HealthTheater:
 Multiple Chemical Sensitivity – Deborah's story
Published on Friday 13 April 2012 13:05
What if you could never step foot outside without wearing a face mask to block out the smell of perfumes and cologne from people. How would you handle it? For Deborah, who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder, this is her reality. Let her coping mechanisms inspire you.
View the video here.
Transcript
"Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Deborah's Story"
Deborah:
"I've always been sensitive, I've always had a strong sense of smell, but it's never affected me in a negative way, until maybe 3 or 4 years ago. I can't tolerate being near everyday chemical compounds like, cleaning detergents, body deodorants, hair spray, diesel fume, deodorizers, air fresheners, pesticides, and the list seems to get longer everyday."
Read more… |
| |
| |
| |
For previous news items, visit our full “In the News” archive:
|
| |
|
|
More information...