Bone mineral density in fibromyalgia patients--correlation to disease activity.

OBJECTIVE: To compare bone mass (BMD) in women with fibromyalgia (FM) with healthy females, and to evaluate whether self-reported pain and lack of functional capacity correlate to reduced BMD in FM patients. METHODS: Thirty-one FM patients (20 pre- and 11 postmenopausal) and fourty-one healthy women (30 pre- and 10 postmenopausal) were enrolled in the study. BMD of the lumbar spine and the femoral neck was measured by a DEXA (Norland) scanner. Self reported pain was measured on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The Activity of Daily Living (ADL) component of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-ADL) was used as measure for physical capacity. RESULTS: BMD-lumbar spine and BMD-femoral neck did not differ significantly between FM patients and controls, though premenopausal FM patients tended to have lower BMD-femoral neck (p = 0.09). Self reported pain and FIQ-ADL among FM patients correlated with BMD-femoral neck (r(s) = -0.52, p = 0.003); (r(s) = -0.31, p = 0.09). CONCLUSION: Premenopausal FM patients tended to have lower BMD of hip than controls. Self reported pain correlated negatively to BMD. Thus, the severity of FM might have a negative impact on bone mass.

Comparison of viral antibodies in 2 groups of patients with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE: The etiologies of fibromyalgia (FM) are unknown. In some cases an acute onset following a flu-like episode is described; in other cases patients report slowly developing disease. We previously found increased prevalence of enterovirus IgM antibodies in patients with acute onset of FM compared to healthy controls. We looked for differences in antimicrobial IgM antibodies in acute versus nonacute onset FM. METHODS: Two well defined, comparable groups of patients with FM (acute 19, nonacute 20) were studied for antibodies in serum to an array of viruses including IgM antibodies. RESULTS: In most viruses no IgM antibodies were found. However, about 50% of the patients with acute FM onset had IgM antibodies against enterovirus compared to only 15% of the slow onset patients. CONCLUSION: The higher prevalence of IgM antibodies against enterovirus in patients with acute onset of FM may indicate a difference in the etiology or the immune response in these patients.

Search for Borna disease virus in Danish fibromyalgia patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to look for Borna disease virus (BDV) in 18 patients with acute onset of fibromyalgia (FMS) following a "flu-like" episode. BDV is a neurotropic RNA virus affecting horses and sheep. Infections in animals have been reported to cause immune mediated disease characterized by abnormalities in behavior. A possible link between BDV and neuropsychiatric diseases in man has been described, and lately a connection to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been suggested. METHODS: A BDV-specific nested PCR (RT-PCR) was performed on serum and spinal fluid. RESULTS: The BDV genome was not detected in any of the FMS cases. CONCLUSION: Although BDV was not demonstrated in spinal fluid or serum from the tested patients with FMS, we believe that it is important to report our results, since FMS can exhibit many manifestations in common with CFS. Possible reasons for the discrepant findings are discussed.

Selective double staining of interstitial cells of Cajal and macrophage-like cells in small intestine by an improved supravital methylene blue technique combined with FITC-dextran uptake.

By a brief exposure of small intestine (mouse, rat, guinea pig) to lysolecithin prior to vital methylene blue staining we were able to demonstrate in a selective way the complete network of interstitial cells of Cajal, located in the space between the longitudinal and circular muscle layers. A combination with fluorescence labeling (FITC-dextran uptake) of macrophage-like cells, allowed us to demonstrate 1) the complete, regular distribution of both cell populations along the entire small intestine, and 2) the constant, intimate associations between interstitial cells of Cajal and macrophage-like cells. In relation to current hypotheses concerning a role of interstitial cells of Cajal in motility regulation, our results call attention to the possible involvement of another cell type, the macrophage-like cell.