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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend November 6, 2006 No miracle cure for those who suffer from fibromyalgia EDITOR'S NOTE: This weekly column by reporter Bill Kettler answers readers' questions about topics of general medical interest with information provided by doctors from PrimeCare, Jackson County's independent practice association. My wife and I both have fibromyalgia. Many "experts" recommend exercise, which we get enough of and which only increases our pain. Are there any new forms of treatment for this syndrome? -- Phillip N., Grants Pass Physicians often speak of "fibromyalgia syndrome" because people who have the muscular aches and pains most often associated with this complaint may also have other symptoms such as chronic fatigue, depression and involuntary leg movements, says Dr. David Dryland, a Medford rheumatologist who treats many patients with "fibro." Dryland says researchers have discovered over the past few years that fibromyalgia is caused by a problem in the central nervous system, specifically, a lack of dopamine, a chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells. Advertisement Dryland says dopamine functions as an inhibitor, helping the brain filter out extraneous information. When dopamine levels fall too low, "you feel everything more than you should," he says. Dryland says the nervous system is always processing information, but most of it is filtered out to allow the brain to focus on what's really important. People don't normally feel their eyeglasses, for example, or their clothes. Without adequate dopamine, the filtering mechanism fails. Small pains that would ordinarily never be perceived become impossible to ignore. The pain, he says, is very real. For some people the dopamine is so low they hurt when they're touched. For others, walking across a room can be too much. Dryland says dopamine levels fall when the body produces too much adrenaline, the chemical associated with the primitive "fight or flight" survival mechanism. Many people live such stressful lives that their adrenaline levels remain unnaturally high most of the time, which depletes their dopamine. High adrenaline levels don't have to be associated solely with life-and-death situations. Dryland says a stressful marriage or a severe case of arthritis could create enough stress to raise adrenaline levels. Dryland says there are no drugs approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration specifically to treat fibromyalgia, but some anti-depressants that are used to treat pain (such as Cymbalta) have helped some patients. Other drugs are expected to gain FDA approval sometime in 2007. Drugs that are used to treat other dopamine-related illnesses such as Parkinson's disease also have been used to treat fibromyalgia, but Dryland says they have to be taken in large doses and the side effects (such as nausea) are often intolerable. Dryland says "the single best way to treat fibromyalgia is to understand what you have." That means getting adequate sleep (which helps restore dopamine), reducing existing sources of stress, and avoiding new stressors. Psychotherapy may be helpful for patients to understand the sources of stress that exacerbate their condition. Dryland says physicians still don't understand why some people have such low dopamine levels. Some think the body physically runs out; others think the body shuts down dopamine production to conserve vital chemicals that are used for other processes. Fibromyalgia can be frustrating for patients who have suffered for years because it may not immediately respond to treatment, Dryland says. It generally occurs in older people, often those who have other health problems such as arthritis. "If you have wear and tear all over your body, it's just hard to make that magically get better," he says. Call Bill Kettler with your medical questions at 776-4492, or e-mail them to: [email protected] or send them to: Mail Tribune, Ask Your Doctors, P.O. Box 1108, Medford OR 97501. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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