ADVANCES IN FIBROMYALGIA - POSSIBLE ROLE FOR CENTRAL NEUROCHEMICALS

The neurophysiologic term allodynia has been applied to fibromyalgia b ecause people with that disorder experience pain from pressure stimuli which are not normally painful. The nociceptive neurotransmitters of animal studies are now relevant to this human model of chronic, widesp read pain. Evidence is presented to implicate several chemical pain me diators (including serotonin, substance P, nerve growth factor, and dy norphin A) in the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia. This perception is hop eful because it offers many new options for the development of innovat ive therapy.