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This article was in Dr. Douglass's newsletter.
Study proves fibromyalgia is the real deal
Dear Friend,
Fibromyalgia sufferers have gotten a raw deal for years. Many doctors
think the disease is all in their head because there's no lab test that can
confirm the source of their symptoms. And with symptoms as elusive as chronic
fatigue, muscle pain, and persistent doubt, it's not hard to figure out why
these docs are so stumped.
Past research has implied that depression was
actually the true source of the fatigue and pain of fibromyalgia. But a new
study has detected brain abnormalities in fibromyalgia patients. So while these
new findings may not be a cure, they're sure to give peace of mind (and no small
sense of vindication) to any fibromyalgia sufferer who's gotten a skeptical look
from his physician.
In this new study, 30 women (20 with fibromyalgia,
and 10 with no disorders) were given a brain imaging test called Single Photon
Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT).
The result? The fibromyalgia
sufferers had blood flow anomalies known as "brain perfusion" that the healthy
women did not. What's more, the researchers found that the degree of brain
perfusion was in direct proportion to the severity of the suffers' reported
symptoms.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Eric Geudj of France's
Centre Hospitalier-Universitaire de La Timone, said the results of the study
showed "that the functional abnormalities observed were mainly related to
disability" rather than depression and anxiety.
I can only imagine the
frustration of the 10 million people (most of them women) who live not only with
fibromyalgia's symptoms, but also with the added stress of the doubt of the
medical community. Think of dealing with the constant symptoms of pain, memory
and concentration issues, stiffness, and sleeping problems – and then having
your doctor looking at you sideways because his tests show that you're perfectly
healthy.
Hopefully this new study will help to create a wider acceptance
throughout the medical of fibromyalgia as a legitimate disease. Which should
open the door to more research into the source and – most importantly – the
cure.
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