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Increased Neural Sympathetic Activation in Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Author(s) -
SARZIPUTTINI PIERCARLO,
ATZENI FABIOLA,
DIANA ALESSANDRO,
DORIA ANDREA,
FURLAN RAFFAELLO
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1351.009
Subject(s) - fibromyalgia , medicine , orthostatic intolerance , autonomic nervous system , anxiety , depression (economics) , chronic fatigue syndrome , irritable bowel syndrome , dysautonomia , sympathetic nervous system , exertion , physical medicine and rehabilitation , neuroscience , physical therapy , psychology , orthostatic vital signs , psychiatry , disease , blood pressure , heart rate , economics , macroeconomics
Abstract: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, although the mechanisms underlying the pain have not been fully elucidated. FM patients describe a number of nonspecific symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, and gastrointestinal complaints, which appear after a flu‐like illness, or after physical or emotional trauma in half of the patients, and are often exacerbated by exertion, stress, lack of sleep, and weather changes. There may also be symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, which suggests underlying abnormalities in cardiovascular neural regulation. Research suggests that various components of the central nervous system are involved, including the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis, pain‐processing pathways, and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This review discusses the general aspects of the altered HPA and ANS, sympathetic overactivity, and alterations in cardiovascular autonomic responses to gravitational stimuli.