Clin Exp Rheumatol
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterised by chronic musculoskeletal pain, hyperalgesia on specific areas of tenderness (tender points) and by an autonomic nervous system dysfunction consistent with sympathetic overactivity. It is not known whether there is any relationship between the amount of cardiovascular sympathetic activity and the magnitude of pain. Our objective was to assess this potential relationship in patients with FM. ⋯ These findings raise the theoretical possibility that in FM patients the use of anti-adrenergic agents might lessen chronic pain intensity by reducing the underlying excessive sympathetic activity.
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Comparative Study
Agreement between self-reported sleep patterns and actigraphy in fibromyalgia and healthy women.
To examine the agreement between objective (accelerometer) and subjective measures of sleep in fibromyalgia women (FW) and healthy women (HW). To identify explanatory variables of the discrepancies between the objective and subjective measures in FW and in HW. ⋯ The objective measure only showed higher frequency and average duration of wake after sleep onset in FW compared with HW. The agreement between the SWA and the PSQI measures of sleep were poor in the FW group. Age, educational level and the impact of fibromyalgia might be explanatory variables of the inter-method discrepancies in FW.
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Fibromyalgia (FM) can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms and sexual dysfunction. However, no data exist regarding anxiety and depression status in spouses of sexually active women with FM. Accordingly, we aimed to evaluate whether emotional status are affected in spouses of women with FM, and to search whether there was a relationship between sexual dysfunction of women with FM and emotional status of their spouses. ⋯ FM can cause deterioration of emotional status and lead to sexual dysfunction. Also, psychological status could be affected in spouses of women with FM at reproductive age, and the severity of depression of their spouses was significantly correlated to that of women with FM. However, this affection in psychological status did not relate to sexual problems of the women with FM.
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Previous research suggests that social support has beneficial effects for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Yet, recent studies suggest that sociocultural differences have implications for whether or not the individuals use social support to cope with stressful events. Given the stressful nature of a chronic disabling disease, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of structural and functional facets of social support with quality of life (QoL) in Greek RA patients. ⋯ In Greek RA patients, quality of social support predicts quality of life above and beyond disease activity, demographic factors and social integration. Structural aspects of social support were not significant predictors of QoL, in line with previous research on cultural differences in how people utilise their social networks.
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Digital ulcers (DU) may develop in half of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients; they are often resistant to treatments. Deep wound debridement is crucial for DU healing, but very difficult to carry out without adequate procedural pain management. Here, we report the results of our experience on procedural pain management in scleroderma DU. ⋯ The present study showed valuable control of procedural pain during DU debridement with sequential, combined analgesic treatment.