J Rheumatol
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To investigate the relationship between changes in clinical rating scale items and endpoint Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I). ⋯ In addition to pain reduction, what makes patients with FM feel better may include improvement in fatigue, physical functioning, mood, and impact on daily living. An assessment of these domains may be important in clinical trials of FM and in the management of patients with FM.
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To determine whether perturbations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) were associated with the presence of chronic widespread pain (CWP) in men. ⋯ Overall CWP was not associated with perturbations in IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations. Hypofunctioning of the axis was noted among subjects who were obese and this was not specific to CWP. These data suggest that IGF-1 is unlikely to be etiologically important in relation to CWP, although the relationship with growth hormone remains to be elucidated.
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Fibromyalgia (FM) has been shown to be common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but studies on Asian patients are lacking. It remains unclear whether FM has an adverse influence on pain, fatigue, quality of life, and mood in these patients, and what its relationship is with disease activity. We studied prevalence and effects of FM in North Indian patients with RA and associations of RA with disease activity. ⋯ FM is more common in North Indian patients with RA compared to controls. It adversely affects the pain and fatigue felt by RA patients. Disease activity and FM influence each other.
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Increasing research interest and emerging new therapies for treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) have led to a need to develop a consensus on a core set of outcome measures that should be assessed and reported in all clinical trials, to facilitate interpretation of the data and understanding of the disease. This aligns with the key objective of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) initiative to improve outcome measurement through a data driven, interactive consensus process. ⋯ The core data set was supported by high consensus among attendees at OMERACT 9. Establishing an international standard for RCT in FM should facilitate future metaanalyses and indirect comparisons.