ABNORMAL RESPONSES TO ELECTROCUTANEOUS STIMULATION IN FIBROMYALGIA

Objective. As disturbed nociception may be relevant to the pathogenesi s of fibromyalgia, nonnoxious electrocutaneous stimulation was used as a tool to investigate nociceptive status. Methods. Perception thresho ld and pain tolerance were studied in the upper limbs of 10 patients w ith fibromyalgia and 10 healthy volunteers. Results. Perception thresh old did not differ between the groups but the marked reduction in pain tolerance found in patients with fibromyalgia was accompanied by spre ad and persistence of dysesthesiae. Conclusion. The upper limbs of pat ients with fibromyalgia resembled regions of secondary hyperalgesia, w hich may imply that perturbation of central nociceptive mechanisms is involved in the pathogenesis of this syndrome.