WeAreFibro.org - The Social Support Network for People Living with Fibromyalgia

rman fibromyalgia association, October 2008.The possibilities of treating chronic and chronic-recurrent pain syndrome with biological immunopharmaceuticals (syn.: biologics) SummaryThe extent of pain, exhaustion and functional disorders from which humans with fibromyalgia suffer can hardly be conveyed to most people and the physicians who are asked for help. For the persons concerned, the fact that medical science has so far found only a few concepts regarding a meaningful diagnosis and therapy, which corresponds only partly to the expectations of most patients, is particularly discouraging.Nevertheless, in the meantime it has been shown in a large group of patients with fibromyalgia and to...

FMA UK response to AP article Feb 09 Many charities and non-profit groups around the world have been struggling to raise awareness of fibromyalgia for over 20 years. Even before it was given that name, people were concerned that the symptoms were causing great distress and hardship to people who were inexplicitly in pain and suffering from profound bouts of fatigue. One thing people with fibromyalgia are certain about is that the symptoms they feel are real and cannot be dismissed as "a murky illness" as this article suggests. Fibromyalgia was given validity long before the drug companies started their...

Geographic or ethnic differences in the occurrence of disease often provide insights into causes of disease and possible opportunities for disease prevention. Persons in China appear to have a consistently lower prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia than persons in the United States and Europe; reasons for these prevalence differences might include genetic differences, differences in environmental exposures or a combination of both. With increasing obesity, gout is becoming endemic in China. Finally, symptomatic knee osteoarthritis is extremely common in China and constitutes a major public health problem there. TopAbstractAbbreviationsCompeting interestsReferences In the present issue of Arthritis Research and Therapy...

Disease perceptions of Brazilian fibromyalgia patients: do they resemble perceptions from other countries?Martinez JE, Cruz CG, Aranda C, Boulos FC, Lagoa LA.Medical School of Sorocaba, Catholic University of São Paulo, Rua Riachuelo 460/103, Sorocaba, SP, Brazil 18035-330. jemartinez@sorocaba.pucsp.brThe purpose of this study was to discover how Brazilian fibromyalgia patients perceive their disease. Fifteen women who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for Fibromyalgia were given an individual semi-structured interview about their perception of fibromyalgia. There was a marked uniformity in the description of clinical symptoms, with diffuse pain and fatigue being considered the most important symptoms. Pain descriptions...