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« on: July 05, 2006, 09:59:11 pm »

Acupuncture relieves symptoms of fibromyalgia, Mayo Clinic study finds

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Evidence suggests acupuncture reduces the symptoms of fibromyalgia, according to a Mayo Clinic study.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder considered disabling by many, and is characterized by chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms such as fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep disturbance. No cure is known and available treatments are only partially effective.

Mayo's study involved 50 fibromyalgia patients enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial to determine if acupuncture improved their symptoms. Symptoms of patients who received acupuncture significantly improved compared with the control group, according to the study published in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

"The results of the study convince me there is something more than the placebo effect to acupuncture," says David Martin, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the acupuncture article and a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. "It affirms a lot of clinical impressions that this complementary medical technique is helpful for patients."

Increasingly, patients are interested in pursuing complementary medicine techniques in conjunction with their mainstream medical care, Dr. Martin says. But often, such techniques lack scientific evidence to justify a patient's expense and time.

The study lends credence to patients' belief that nontraditional methods may improve their health. In Mayo's trial, patients who received acupuncture to counter their fibromyalgia symptoms reported improvement in fatigue and anxiety, among other symptoms. Acupuncture was well tolerated, with minimal side effects.

Mayo's acupuncture study is one of only three randomized and controlled studies involving fibromyalgia patients. Of the other studies, one found acupuncture to be helpful, while the other reported it was ineffective for pain relief.

Dr. Martin says Mayo's study demonstrates that acupuncture is helpful, and also proves physicians can conduct a rigorous, controlled acupuncture study. Future research could help physicians understand which medical conditions respond best to acupuncture, how to apply it to best relieve symptoms, and how long patients can expect to their symptoms to decrease after each treatment.

Dr. Martin performed the study at Mayo Clinic Rochester with co-authors Ines Berger, M.D.; Christopher Sletten, Ph.D.; and Brent Williams.


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« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2006, 10:29:05 am »

Chronic widespread pain, including fibromyalgia, appears to be linked to a relative lack of anti-inflammatory messenger chemicals, according to researchers here.

In a cohort study, patients with chronic pain resistant to standard therapy had lower serum levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) than did age- and sex-matched controls, Nurcan Üçeyler, M.D., of the University of Wurzburg here, and colleagues, reported in the August issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.


At the same time, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), were not different between patients and controls, said Dr. Üçeyler and colleagues.


The finding, they said, still needs to be confirmed, but if validated, cytokine expression patterns might be used to assist diagnosis of chronic widespread pain or to assist treatment.


The study was prompted by the observation that patients treated for cancer with IL-2 developed symptoms reminiscent of fibromyalgia, but cytokine analysis has so far not confirmed any clear link between cytokines and chronic pain, they added.


The researchers enrolled 40 patients with chronic widespread pain, of whom 26 met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia, as well as 40 healthy age- and sex-matched volunteers. The 40 patients had been part of a study of a novel pain treatment, so 15 chronic pain patients from another center were recruited to act as internal controls.


Both groups of patients reported their pain levels to be high. The 40 patients said their pain was, on average, seven on a 10-point scale, while the 15 patients reported an average pain level of six on the same scale, ranging from zero (or no pain at all) to 10 (the worst pain imaginable).


The researchers analyzed gene expression of the cytokines using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, as well as looking at cytokine protein levels using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The study found:


Compared with the controls, the 40 patients had significantly lower gene expression of IL-4 and IL-10 (P<0.0001 and P=0.03, respectively).
Also compared with the controls, the patients had lower serum protein concentrations of the two cytokines (P< 0.0001 for IL-4 and P=0.04 for IL-10).
There were no significant differences between the groups in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-2, Il-8, TNFα, or transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1).

The internal control group of 15 patients also had significantly lower levels of IL-4 than the controls (at P<0.001). Their levels of IL-10 were also lower, but the difference did not reach significance, and there was no difference in the pro-inflammatory cytokines.


Dr. Üçeyler and colleagues noted that IL-10 and IL-4 have both been shown to dull the pain response in other studies, but exactly how the low levels seen in this study result in chronic pain is still unclear. One possibility, they said, is genetic variation either in the genes for the cytokines themselves or in regulatory elements.


It's also possible that still more cytokines are involved in the mechanism, they said.

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« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2006, 08:32:21 am »

Lyrica May Relieve Fibromyalgia Pain

Nov. 14, 2006 (Washington, D.C.) -- The seizure drug Lyrica may offer extended pain relief for people with fibromyalgia.

That's according to new research presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome marked by widespread aches, pains, stiffness, fatigue, and trouble sleeping. About 2%-4% of the U.S. population has the condition, according to the American College of Rheumatology.

There is no FDA-approved treatment for fibromyalgia. People with fibromyalgia are treated with a variety of medications approved for other conditions, including low doses of antidepressants, antianxiety medications, and analgesics.

The new study suggests that Lyrica may improve pain in people with the disorder and that these improvements may last at least six months.

Exactly how Lyrica works in fibromyalgia is not fully understood. Fibromyalgia may be caused by abnormalities in the central nervous system that affect how people process painful stimulation; Lyrica acts on the central nervous system.

Long-Term Pain Relief

The new study was conducted in two parts. The first part comprised 1,051 people with fibromyalgia who took 300, 450, or 600 milligrams of Lyrica daily for six weeks. Participants who showed a greater than 50% reduction in their pain and said that they felt "much" or "very much" better were moved into a six-month study in which they received a dummy pill (placebo) or an optimal dose of Lyrica.

Most of the participants were white women, with an average age of 50 and an average duration of fibromyalgia of 7.8 years.

One-fourth of people who received a placebo saw a worsening of their symptoms in seven days, compared with 34 days among people who took Lyrica.

Overall, 61% of people taking placebo pills lost the response they had seen in the first part of the study, compared with 32% percent of those who took Lyrica, the study showed.

Twice as many people who took Lyrica experienced long-term pain relief compared with their counterparts who took a placebo.

"[Lyrica] demonstrated durability of pain relief in patients who responded and it was generally well-tolerated," says researcher Leslie J. Croffiord, MD, professor of rheumatology and women's health at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Side effects included dizziness, sinusitis, joint pain, anxiety, and sleepiness.

Calling the new findings "interesting," Eric Ruderman, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, tells WebMD that "based on this preliminary trial, a lot of people will be looking at this drug in fibromyalgia and the advantage of this agent is that it has a certain durability to it."

He adds that "this is the second study to show benefit in terms of pain and, in general, it was well-tolerated and provided pretty durable pain relief."

Though six months is not a lifetime, the ideal scenario for chronic disease like fibromyalgia is to find something you can remain on without cumulative side effects.

Lyrica is also FDA-approved for diabetic nerve pain and nerve pain following shingles. It is manufactured by Pfizer.

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« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2007, 07:29:38 am »

Fibromyalgia is real, and it really hurts
Only recently identified, this chronic condition affects up to 20 million people. Cal State Fullerton is opening a research center.


Think about living in constant pain. About having a disease no one knows how to cure. In fact, about having a disease no one even identified until recent years.

Fibromyalgia (pronounced Fy-bro-my-AL-ja) is defined as a complex chronic pain illness that affects about 5 percent of the population worldwide and some 10 million to20 million Americans. About 80 percent of the patients are women.

For years, doctors told these women the pain was all in their heads.

Lynne Matallana, 52, of Orange can tell you about fibromyalgia. She even remembers when it spread through her blood "like acid running through my veins."

In 1993, she was a partner in a thriving advertising and public relations business, married and hoping to have a family. She was in surgery for endometriosis, a condition that affects a woman's fertility.

"I woke up and felt this incredible pain," she says. "I knew something was wrong. I couldn't get out of bed without incredible pain after the surgery I tried to be optimistic. But everyone thought I was crazy. I went from doctor to doctor (37 in all). I was diagnosed with lupus and multiple sclerosis. It wasn't until the end of 1995 that I found a doctor who did extensive tests and diagnosed my fibromyalgia."

Q: How many years did you spend in bed and recovery?

A: I spent two years in bed. Then recovery took about seven years. I slowly started to walk, did yoga, water therapy, got helps for sleep disturbances.

Q: Are you out of pain now?

A: I still have pain pretty much every single day, but you learn how to put it in the back of your mind. If you focus on it, it is much more incapacitating. I try to find ways to focus on ways to make life really important.

Q: You gave up your career but you didn't give up on being involved.

A: In 1997, I founded the National Fibromyalgia Association. Just my computer and me in my bed. I found a partner who helped me turn this into a nonprofit and we got lots of media attention that year when a supporter biked from Chicago to Los Angeles. We had five front-page stories. It was the first time fibromyalgia was talked about in the media.

Q: So you have been serving the fibromyalgia community for almost 10 years.

A: We started realizing there were patients that needed information and support. We worked closely with the medical community on research, with patient advocates, and after three years, we had a Web site. For the past five years we've had an international magazine called Fibromyalgia Aware. We estimate 1.2 million people use our services. We get calls from China, Japan, Israel.

Q: You even wrote a book.

A: Yes, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fibromyalgia." It's available for $19.95 from our association office at 2200 N. Glassell St., Suite A, Orange 92865. For a $5 donation, I'll autograph the book.

Q: You've made great strides in 10 years, and now you have an exciting new partnership.

A: Right. California State University Fullerton is launching a new Fibromyalgia Research and Education Center. Jesse Jones, who pioneered the university's studies of senior issues, like fall prevention, will be the director. She also has fibromyalgia. They will be doing research and providing facilities on biofeedback, water therapy, acupuncture.

They will be specifically working on the functionality of fibromyalgia. We know exercise – delicate exercise – is very helpful. So they will work on evaluating ways to help people exercise with the least amount of pain.

Q: You can't launch a new center without a fundraiser and a conference.

A: You're right. The Casino Night Gala benefiting the association and research center will be from 7 p.m. to midnight (May 11) ssat the Titan Gymnasium on the campus.

And a one-day seminar on managing chronic pain will be May 12, also on the campus. Speakers include Dennis Turk from the University of Washington, who will talk about treating people with fibromyalgia, and Dr. Robert Bonakdar of Scripps Institute, who will talk on holistic approaches to pain treatment.

Q: And we should all come to both.

A: Of course.
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« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2007, 09:59:11 am »

Those with fibromyalgia may feel more pain 



  Using sophisticated imaging techniques, the University of Michigan is demonstrating that fibromyalgia may affect millions of Americans.

"Fibromyalgia is a condition that's characterized by widespread pain involving the muscles, the joints, and in fact, any area of the body," Dr. Daniel Clauw, director of the University of Michigan Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, said in a statement. "In addition to pain, individuals with fibromyalgia often experience sleep fatigue, difficulties with sleep and difficulties with memory and concentration, among other symptoms." Using a technique called functional imaging, which allows scientists to look at how different areas of the brain function when people are given painful stimuli, the researchers found that for the same amount of damage or inflammation in the peripheral tissues, a fibromyalgia patient would feel significantly more pain than the average person.

Although the American College of Rheumatology estimates that about 3 percent of Americans suffer from fibromyalgia, Clauw says it's probably closer to 5 percent or 6 percent.
 
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« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2007, 02:12:09 pm »

http://cbs13.com/betterbody/local_story_030194637.html

 Center Offers Help For Fibromyalgia

Video


(CBS13) DAVIS, Calif. Most of the time, fatigue can be traced back to a lack of sleep or exercise. But what do you do when it's constant and accompanied by pain? A reported 12 million Americans suffer from an illness most doctors won't treat, but a medical center in Davis is offering relief.

In 2005, Laura Caron's life went from full speed, to zero.

She couldn't work. It all started when her mother developed Alzheimer’s, and then her father fell ill.

Laura's symptoms stumped eight doctors before one referred her to the Institute for Restorative Health in Davis. Diagnosis? Fibromyalgia, that's pain all over.

“At one point it in your shoulder, then it's in your hips. It kind of moves around. It just made it difficult for me to work my job,” says Caron.

Doctor Marco Vespignani says eighty percent of his patients suffer from Fibromyalgia, even though many doctors deny it exists.

“They feel it’s either a form of depression or some other process that just hasn't been identified and if it’s not corrected by medications then they're just not picking the right medications,” says Dr. Vespignani.

Vespignani says the institute's pain management program blends western and alternative medicine to create health plans uniquely tailored for each patient.

Laura says it was life changing.

"They encouraged you to find some that brings you peace," she says.

For Laura, that was art, a passion she left behind in college.

"That has been such a blessing to me to go back to something that I did not have time for. It affected me so much," she says.

Laura Caron says she still has a little pain but it's manageable now. She plans to begin exhibiting her artwork locally.

Located at 1360 Drew Ave. Suite 300
Davis CA.
Personal note, my Nuerologist is one of the partners here (Eric Hassid)
Tomorrow my husband will be going here for his Fibro and for his falling down eposides.
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« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2007, 10:56:16 pm »

         


Volunteers Needed for Stanford Fibromyalgia Study







Subject: Volunteers Needed for Stanford Fibromyalgia Study:


Hello,

My name is Liana Gefter, and I am a fibromyalgia researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine. I am contacting you because you have either participated in a fibromyalgia study previously, expressed interest in being a study participant, or have volunteered to help recruit study participants.

We will be conducting a new fibromyalgia study using acupuncture that will be starting in the next few weeks. Please see attached flyer for details (I am also pasting the information below). If you are interested in being a study participant or know someone who may be interested, please contact me. My e-mail is lgefter@stanford.edu. and my phone number is 650-438-4428.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Sincerely, Liana

Stanford University School of Medicine, Dept. of Anesthesia



Needed: Female Fibromyalgia Patients For Acupuncture Study. We are conducting a study looking at skin sensitivity before and after six acupuncture treatments. We are using a non-invasive device that measures sensitivity to heat and cold. We are looking for premenopausal female fibromyalgia patients (using no opiate pain medications, with no other neurological or rheumatologic conditions, and not pregnant) to participate in our study.

Time Requirement: Six acupuncture treatment sessions, twice a week for three weeks. Each session will last for approximately one hour. There will be no charge for the acupuncture treatments. You will also need to complete one QST session before and after your treatments to measure skin sensitivity. Each QST session will last less than two hours.

If interested, please contact Liana Gefter, Stanford University School of Medicine via email at: lgefter@stanford.edu or phone 650-438-4428.
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« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2007, 09:17:56 am »

Sosei Announces Completion of Phase II Trial of Fibromyalgia Drug

Sosei has completed a Phase II trial of AD 337 for the treatment of fibromyalgia.

The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial investigated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of AD 337 in female subjects. The trial enrolled 103 patients across 18 centers in the UK and Australia with the primary study endpoint being the difference in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire score between active and placebo after four weeks of treatment, Sosei said.

Results show the study did not achieve a statistically significant outcome in its primary endpoint. However, statistical significance in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire was achieved at the one-week time point, and positive trends were seen throughout the study, the company added.

AD 337 was well tolerated and there were no clinically significant changes in vital signs, biochemistry, hematology and cardiovascular parameters, according to the company.

Sosei CEO Shinichi Tamura said the company will evaluate the results of the trial to determine its approach for possible development of AD 337 in fibromyalgia and other potential indications.

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« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2007, 08:57:05 pm »

Research May Explain Why Fibromyalgia Sufferers Often Don't Respond to Traditional Painkillers

Friday , September 28, 2007



New research may explain why people who have the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia often report that they don’t respond to the types of medication that relieve other people’s pain.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System found that patients with fibromyalgia had reduced binding ability of a type of receptor in the brain that is the target of opioid painkiller drugs such as morphine.

The study included positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brains of 17 women with fibromyalgia and 17 without the condition.

Results showed that the fibromyalgia patients had reduced mu-opioid receptor (MOR) availability within regions of the brain that normally process and dampen pain signals.

“The reduced availability of the receptor was associated with greater pain among people with fibromyalgia,” said lead author Richard E. Harris, research investigator in the Division of Rheumatology at the U-M Medical School's Department of Internal Medicine and a researcher at the U-M Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, in a news release.

The findings appear in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Opioid pain killers work by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, the study explains. In addition to morphine, they include codeine, Darvocet, Vicodin, and Oxycontin.

The researchers believe that, with the lower availability of the MORs in three regions of the brains of people with fibromyalgia, such painkillers may not be able to bind as well to the receptors as they can in the brains of people without the condition.

When the painkillers cannot bind to the receptors, they cannot alleviate the patient’s pain as effectively, Harris said.

The research team also found a possible link with depression. The PET scans showed that the fibromyalgia patients with more depressive symptoms had reductions of MOR binding potential in a region of the brain thought to modulate mood and the emotional dimension of pain.

“The finding is significant because it has been difficult to determine the causes of pain in patients with fibromyalgia, to the point that acceptance of the condition by medical practitioners has been slow,” added Harris.

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« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2007, 08:42:48 am »

Friedman Billings Starts Biogen Idec at "Underperform," Is Bullish on Cypress Biosciences




 A Friedman, Billings Ramsey analyst said he believes sales estimates for Elan Corp.'s Tysabri multiple sclerosis drug may be too high, and initiated coverage of the Irish biotechnology company with an "Underperform" rating on Tuesday.

Shares of Elan Corp. rose 25 cents to $21.53 in midday trading despite analyst David Amsellem assigning a $13 price target to the stock. He said sales estimates for the company's multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which was relaunched during the third quarter of 2006, may be unrealistic. The company's partner on the drug, Biogen Idec Inc., has said it expects 100,000 patients to be on the drug by the end of 2010.

"For this to happen, doctors would have to start using Tysabri in first-line patients, and we are hearing that doctors are adhering strictly to using the drug in refractory (second-line) patients, per the label," Amsellem wrote in a note to investors.

The drug was approved in November of 2004 but withdrawn in February 2005 after two patients in clinical trials died of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML. No new cases of the fatal brain disease have been reported.

Amsellem estimates Tysabri revenue for Elan will grow to $641 million by 2009, well below Wall Street's consensus estimate of $1 billion. Also, the company's developing Alzheimer's disease drug, AAB-001 is about three to four years from the market. The drug is only just about to enter late-stage studies and there are still too many unanswered questions surrounding it, Amsellem said.

Shares of Biogen Idec fell $2.38, or 3.5 percent, to $65.56, after Credit Suisse analyst Michael Aberman agreed that Biogen's management is too optimistic about Tysabri sales, and downgraded Biogen shares to "Underperform" from "Neutral." He said sales of Biogen's rheumatoid arthritis treatment Rituxan and its MS drug Avonex are also at risk.

Aberman raised his target price to $59 from $53, but said the stock price has been driven up by a rumored buyout that he says is unlikely.

Separately FBR's Amsellem initiated a "Market Perform" rating with a $77 price target on Frazer, Pa.-based Cephalon Inc., saying the prospects for any near-term upside to the stock are limited. Shares of Cephalon fell 21 cents to $73.36.

Amsellem expects sales between $925 million and $950 million from the company's central nervous system drugs in 2007. His concern is the pain medication Fentora, which has flattening prescriptions. In September, the company reported that three people died from improper use of the drug.

Furthermore, the company is being investigated over its sales practices, or whether it promoted off-label uses for its products.

"With in-line results largely expected and headline risk related to the ongoing U.S. and Connecticut attorney general's investigations, we would remain on the sidelines," Amsellem said.

Meanwhile, shares of San Diego-based Cypress Bioscience Inc. rose 27 cents to $14.50 as Amsellem initiated coverage with an "Outperform" rating and $22 price target. The company's lead drug candidate is milnacipran, now in Phase III studies aimed at treating fibromyalgia. That market could be as big as $7 billion in the U.S with sales potential totaling $1.6 billion for milnacipran.


"Milnacipran will likely be the third fibromyalgia treatment to be approved, behind Pfizer's Lyrica and Eli Lilly's Cymbalta, which should gain approval in early 2008," he said. "With a U.S. patient population of nearly six million, we believe that the market is large enough to accommodate multiple players."
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« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2007, 11:04:11 am »

New Breakthrough Treatment for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue All The Way from Edina Minnesota

Drs. Adam J. Burke and Jay P. Wilson of Edina Minnesota have announced a breakthrough treatment for those suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Drs. Burke and Wilson have had such tremendous success with these difficult cases they are starting to attract media attention.



October 5, 2007 -- Drs. Adam J. Burke and Jay P. Wilson of Edina Minnesota have announced a breakthrough treatment for those suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Drs. Burke and Wilson have had such tremendous success with these difficult cases they are starting to attract media attention. Their clinic is in its 43rd year of practice and is located at 7300 France Avenue, in Edina Minnesota.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes a range of symptoms from pain in limbs and joints, to numbness in the extremities, to sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, and depression. Affecting an estimated 30 million people in the U.S., fibromyalgia is difficult to diagnose and treat with traditional medicine. Those suffering from the condition typically have pain and other ailments for years, often turning to a range of doctors, including rheumatologists and other specialists, without achieving relief from their symptoms. The side effects of the medications prescribed for relief from pain and other ailments often create an additional burden for these patients, with minimal efficacy.
"We have patients coming to us when they are really at their wits' end," Dr. Burke said. "People begin to lose hope after having tried everything else. But with this new multi-disciplinary program, we can help people even with very severe fibromyalgia. And the results we get are pretty astounding."

The therapy used to combat the condition includes an evaluation of the nervous system, where the systemic malfunction associated with fibromyalgia is believed to be rooted. This evaluation is followed by a treatment for skeletal imbalance, which is the leading cause of the muscle aches fibromyalgia patients experience. Additionally, an advanced and highly effective cold laser technology is used to assist with healing. Patients undergoing the therapy typically see results in a very short time, provided they are dedicated to following through with the treatment.

"Being able to treat patients and help them recover from the devastating effects of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue is extremely rewarding," Dr. Burke said. "Many of these people have lost the things they care so much about. Hobbies, jobs, and even relationships are severely affected by this debilitating disease. We can help them take their lives back."

Those interested in receiving more information on drug-free treatment of fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome can obtain a free report from www.minnesotapainrelief.com


~**NOTE- www.LupusMCTD.com does not endorse or verify these sites. It is links to provide you with other possibilities for treatments.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2007, 11:10:12 am »

Survey reveals what doctors really think of fibromyalgia 
 

   
   
Friday, 05 October 2007 
 

 A revealing survey of doctors won't make easy reading for fibromyalgia patients whose suffering is often dismissed.

 

Most people would probably assume that if they are sick then their doctor is there to help them as an impartial professional. Apparently this is not the case so you better make sure you develop an illness that your doctor feels is respectable.

 

The survey was carried out in Norway where doctors were asked to rank 38 different diseases according to the prestige with which they believe they are viewed with within the medical profession.

 

Patients suffering a heart attack, or from leukaemia, spleen rupture, brain tumour and testicular cancer can expect to be have their condition taken very seriously, which is as it should as these are all serious conditions.

 

Those suffering from fibromyalgia or nervous/psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and anorexia however may find themselves being treated less than satisfactorily. These are the diseases that the doctors ranked as the least prestigious.

 

The survey will confirm what many fibromyalgia patients have felt when dealing with their doctor. Many are dismissed as if they are malingerers or hypochondriacs when in actual fact fibromyalgia is a very serious chronic pain condition that can ruin people's lives.

 

The researchers from the University of Oslo and the University of Science and Technology, Oslo, said they believed the doctor's views could have implications for medical practice.

 

The results suggest that fibromyalgia patients may have to kick up a fuss to get the kind of care they should be given as a matter of course as doctors initially play down the severity of their condition.

 

There are also likely to be implications beyond the individual suffering of patients. With an estimated 5-10% of the population suffering from fibromyalgia, inadequate care as a result of doctor's personal opinions will inevitably lead to a strain on social services and the economy as millions are left disabled.


 

Source: Social Science & Medicine, doi: 10.1016/j.socimed. 2007.07.003
 
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« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2007, 08:38:58 am »

Efficacy of Neurotropin in Fibromyalgia: A Case Report

Katsuhiro Toda, MD, PhD,**Department of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima Prefectural Rehabilitation Center, Saijyou, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan; Katsuhiro Toda, MD, PhD, Department of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima Prefectural Rehabilitation Center *Department of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima Prefectural Rehabilitation Center, Saijyou, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan; Rehabilitation Medicine for the Elderly and People with Physical Disabilities, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan

 
ABSTRACT
 
Fibromyalgia is a refractory disorder that often necessitates long-term treatment. A 45-year-old woman has suffered from a stiff neck for 27 years and severe widespread pain for 4 years. Her visual analog scale (VAS), global-VAS, self-rating depression scale (SDS), and face scale were 48, 38, 42, and 15, respectively. She met the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia. Four tablets of Neurotropin (NT) per day alone were administered, and her pain was gradually alleviated over 3 weeks. Her heavy sensation of the body and morning stiffness had almost disappeared 5 months later. Her VAS was 40 after 6 months, but the subjective pain decreased to half that at the initial visit. Her global-VAS, SDS, and face scale were 0, 35, and 8, respectively. No adverse effects were observed. NT, a nonprotein extract from the inflamed skin of rabbits inoculated with vaccinia virus, is a commonly prescribed analgesic drug for chronic pain in Japan. One of the advantages of NT is its few and slight adverse effects. Because NT does not suppress the synthesis of prostaglandin, NT does not cause digestive ulcers. Recent studies suggest that the analgesic mechanism of NT is due to the activation of a descending pain inhibitory system in the brain. Two open studies have shown the efficacy of NT for fibromyalgia. In order to determine whether NT is effective for fibromyalgia, a rigid clinical study, such as a double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, is needed.
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« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2007, 02:37:17 pm »

 nurse_
                Gosh my health insurance denied me....This could of helped with my pain issues! Oh what else is new.......Hope everyone is having a painfree day....Kathy, The med he gave me was only 50 mil and how was that suppose to help? gee I am glad I will no longer see him... blkcat hsptl halwen
Thanks for all the info Kathy! I am gratefull....Love you,Me
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« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2007, 07:01:01 pm »

nurse_
                Gosh my health insurance denied me....This could of helped with my pain issues! Oh what else is new.......Hope everyone is having a painfree day....Kathy, The med he gave me was only 50 mil and how was that suppose to help? gee I am glad I will no longer see him... blkcat hsptl halwen
Thanks for all the info Kathy! I am gratefull....Love you,Me
Gail,  litbflys
If your health insurance was denied because that Dr. said you had a "prexisting condition" the "fibro" or whatever he's going to call it, I'd appeal that paperwork so fast. That stays with you for a lifetime, making it hard to get insurance, life, medical, etc.

I could see them denying you on Lupus but not Fibro since so much of the USA population has it.(2-4% of the population).
Is there anyway you can scan and send me the papers to read? I'd be more than happy to go over the paperwork and try to find something out for you that you may benefit from. Oooooo that old Dr  frk  I'm making him something special right now  brew...

We have to be careful what we say to our Drs on our office visits because they transcribe every single complaint and remark we make.
ANd they also leave out alot of what we say too. It's basically our word versus their word.

Run to the newest new Doctor you can find Gail.
((GAIL)))
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sunnipearl
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« Reply #15 on: October 21, 2007, 12:57:46 pm »

 rockingbaby
                          Really Kathy,They really say everything you say to them? I never knew that thanks for the heads up...Now I am going to sit here and go over all the times I went to the doctor's and complained to them about this and that!!!  girlhuh Great! Oh Lord be by my side LOL.....I am no longer seeing him anyway my prim was sorry she sent me and told me that so we will see what happenes..?? This is for that old  frk  brew there good old fashioned brew from me.. trotrt
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« Reply #16 on: October 21, 2007, 02:49:46 pm »

rockingbaby
                          Really Kathy,They really say everything you say to them? I never knew that thanks for the heads up...Now I am going to sit here and go over all the times I went to the doctor's and complained to them about this and that!!!  girlhuh Great! Oh Lord be by my side LOL.....I am no longer seeing him anyway my prim was sorry she sent me and told me that so we will see what happenes..?? This is for that old  frk  brew there good old fashioned brew from me.. trotrt
Gail,
Have you ever ask and got a copy of your medical records, not the brief but a "detailed Doctors report"?
Oh I have cried each time I have read mine. They come right out and say crap about "how patient comes in today for a recheck of lower left leg extremity pain. Xrays negative. Prescribed Motrin 900 mg, patient states no difference in pain. Will refer to Orthopedics as there is nothing medically wrong with patient I feel at this time as all lab work comes back negative".

Except it's very detailed in Doctor langauge... it's just a shame reading some of mine. But thank God I wised up 4 years ago after I was diagnosed. A Doctor never told me, I revieved a phone call from his young nurse who called me at home and said "your ANA panel came back positive for Lupus. THe Doctor said don't worry your'e not going to die from it, he just wants to go over it with you at your next appointment".
I had her repeat what she said and motioned for my daughter to come listen as she repeated it was positive and don't worry I wasn't going to die from it but to go over it with the Dr.".

I wrote that date on the calender. At this time I was being shoved off from every specialist you could think of for this hip pain that no one knew what was causing it.
Ortho said it was depression and my right leg was shorter but shouldn't be causing this kind of pain I was telling them.
He sent me to a foot Dr. who said I had no pulse in that leg and no blood flow.(he did a doppler meter, no blood flowing down my right leg)

 That following Wednesday I was in surgery. but in that short amount of time, I FIRED that Dr. who's nurse said I was positive for Lupus. I had been with him since my first seizure at 16 yrs old. Here I was at 44 yrs old with blocked arteries and being told by a nurse on the phone, not a Dr. to my face I had Lupus.

UGH!!!!

Since then I've had one more surgery to redo the first failed angiplasty, but I am on meds ever since for my pains and muscle spasms.

I write down on the calender each appt. what was said. Then I go up to the 4th floor get a "detailed Dr. report" for those dates.
Sure reading them I see alot of malpractive in my reports. But what good is that going to do for me? I just want my health back.

Just start paying attention to your dates, write everything down and get copies, even of your blood work! That is so important.
((GAIL)))
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« Reply #17 on: October 23, 2007, 12:54:04 pm »

Mercury Exposure Fibro, Lupus, CFS, and more!


On December 16, 1990, 60 MINUTES aired a program on dental mercury amalgam, which brought the issue forcefully to public attention. In 1992, Germany banned the use of certain forms of amalgam. In December 1992, the American Medical Association passed a resolution advocating the elimination of mercury, and benzene from all household products, citing their harmful effect on the environment and on human health. (12/92).

 In August 1993, a Federal Court ruled that California’s Proposition 65 is valid with regards to dental amalgam. This means that any dentist who has 10 or more employees must provide “clear and reasonable warning” to both employees and patients that amalgam is a potentially harmful substance.

 In February 1994, the Swedish parliament passed a bill banning all use of dental amalgam by 1997. On July 11, 1994, the BBC aired a 40-minute documentary on dental amalgam called “The Poison In Your Mouth.” In early 1995, a legal brief was discovered filed the American Dental Association in a civil lawsuit in Santa Clara, California that denies any responsibility for the safety of the general public when the public seeks and receives dental care! Practicing dentists are generally unaware that they have been inadequately informed about amalgam’s toxic properties by their professional association.

~Sources of Mercury
The toxicity of mercury is not only from the major source of dental amalgams, but is also found in a natural state in soil and has been processed and used in a wide variety of industrial applications from the manufacture of wood pulp to agricultural fungicides and pesticides and is found in most plastics. Other sources of mercury contamination are from pharmaceutical medicines including vaccinations and laxatives, cosmetics, large ocean fish such as swordfish and tuna, film, plastics, and paint. We ingest or inhale inorganic mercury through our air, food, water, and soil—our bodies can even absorb it through our skin and convert it into even more highly toxic methyl mercury. Additional sources are inks, in some printing and tattoos, refined grains and seeds may test for methyl mercury, chlorine bleaches, contact lens solutions (antibacterial mercury compound is found in contact lens cleaning solutions and injectable vitamins and drugs), felt, fabric softener, floor waxes and polishes, film, broken thermometers and barometers, antiseptic creams and lotions, and nasal sprays.

“Mercury is a cytotoxin,” (The Mercury In Your Mouth, by Quicksilver Associates. “It is poisonous to all living cells. It also states in the book that it has the capacity to bond with any chemical, which contains a particular type of molecule called “sulfhydryl”, found in most proteins. The human body contains an enormous number of protein compounds; they are the building blocks for all body tissue, and many have one or more sulfhydryl groups. As a result, mercury can interfere with virtually any process or organ in the body.”




~Forms of Mercury
Mercury can occur in inorganic, organic (methyl), and vapor (elemental mercury) forms. “Safe” levels of exposure have titles such as Threshold Limit Values (TLV) and Maximum Allowable Concentrations (MAC). Elemental mercury (vapor) usually is in the mouth with the vapor coming from the mercury dental/amalgams. It then mixes with the saliva and food and goes into the body forming organic mercury (methyl mercury) and settles in the tissues and organs. When mercury is left in the body for long periods of time, it has been known (according to Swedish information) to go to the spinal cord and form inorganic mercury!

There has been controversy of the toxicity of elemental mercury vapor versus methyl mercury. According to Swedish and Canadian studies and research (courtesy of Woodlands Healing Research Center, Dr. Harold Buttram, MD in Quakertown, PA). The following is some of their findings.

“Elemental Mercury Vapor is more rapidly transmitted throughout the body than other forms of mercury and has much more toxic effects on the central nervous system and other parts of the body than inorganic mercury according to the World Health Organization and other studies. Mercury vapor rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier accumulating in the brain and pituitary gland causing neurological and endocrine system damage. Elemental mercury vapor also rapidly crosses cellular membranes including the placenta of pregnant women with inorganic mercury accumulating in the brain, pituitary gland, kidneys, etc. of the developing fetus.” The research continues to say in the situation of the fetus of the pregnant woman that,“there is evidence that indicates that mercury vapor is 10 times more toxic to the fetal brain than methyl mercury.”

The studies found that mercury vapor and organic mercury have independent and synergistic toxic and developmental effects, and that additionally conversions of the mercury occur in the body between the various forms of mercury. It was found that elemental mercury (vapor) was documented to be methylzed in the body to the organic state and was a significant source of methyl mercury.

Organic Mercury -(Methyl Mercury) “Mercury vapor is oxidized or converted to inorganic forms which bioaccumulates in the brain, the central nervous system, liver, kidneys, heart, and oral mucus. The level of mercury in the brain and heart is higher after exposure to mercury vapor than for other forms.”

Inorganic Mercury - Substantial research findings is alarming….”While mercury vapor and methyl mercury readily cross cell membranes and the blood-brain barrier, once in cells they form inorganic mercury that does not readily cross cell membranes of the blood brain barrier readily. Thus inorganic mercury in the brain or spinal cord has a very long life, often over 20 years.”

There are numerous sources stating that the major source of mercury in most people has been well documented to be coming from amalgam fillings. This is especially true for mercury in saliva. Much mercury in the saliva is organic since mouth bacteria and other organisms in the body methylate inorganic mercury to organic mercury. In the research, some people tested who do not eat fish have been found to have high levels of methyl mercury. Mercury from amalgam is methylated by bacteria and candida albicans in the mouth and intestines. Once mercury vapor or methyl mercury are converted to inorganic mercury in cells or the brain, the mercury does not readily cross cell membranes or the blood-brain barrier. The mercury has a very long life in the brain, often as much as 20 years according to the Swedish Medical Journal (1986).



~Testing For Mercury
How does a person know that they have mercury? There are many ways of testing mercury through laboratory testing and in this day and age of advanced technology, through various new instruments.

~Patient’s Health History
This form is one of the simplest and least expensive ways for evaluation. It helps the patient and the doctor or practitioner decide of a very good probability of a mercury hypersensitivity problem.

~Laboratories
There are numerous laboratories across the country that specialize in the area of metal and chemical analysis. Great Smokies National Laboratories in Asheville, NC (1-888-891-3061 Body Balance Division EXT #5) and Dr.’s Data in Chicago (1-630-231-3649) are two popular ones. They can do hair analysis for reasonable costs and urine analysis is another way of testing. See the addresses and phone numbers listed.

~Hair Analysis
The hair analysis shows effectiveness usually when the client is in the process of detoxifying the mercury. A high mercury level often indicates the unloading process, so it can indicate that the mercury is there and the body is trying to unload it.. The hair test may not show the hidden layers of mercury toxicity so that a low mercury level in the hair may not indicate the true state of the body that has a load of mercury in deeper layers of tissues and organs.

~Urinalysis
Urine analysis is usually done over an 18 hr or 24 hr process. A base line mercury excretion level may be obtained from this analysis. A provocative test is with a chelating agent. The most conservative approach is with intravenous Vitamin C. It is least likely to cause detoxification illness. Other challenge tests are EDTA and DMPS and an oral one is DMSA.

~DMPS - EDTA & DMSA Challenge
There has been quite a bit of controversy in recent years of the DMPS challenge as it seems to “dump” the poisonous mercury too fast and had some serious detrimental effects. The detoxification process of the poisonous substances need to be released only to the point that the client can bear. When nausea, headaches, dizziness, vomiting, etc. occur, this is a strong indication that the toxins are coming out too fast and the release of poisons perhaps need to be done more slowly!

~Complete Blood Count
White cell elevation or depression has been found in cases of known mercury poisoning. After amalgam removal the count often levels off from 5,000 to 5,500. A CBC test may be done before and then after removal and offers a comparison. Many laboratories provide this type of test.

~Jerome Mercury Vapor Analyzer.
This instrument is used by governmental agencies for mercury vapor analysis. The patient is tested before and after chewing sugarless gum without aspartame -a chemical- in it, for ten minutes. Usually this test provides some noticeable increases and give the patient an increased awareness of the mercury problem from vapor.

BIOCOMPATIBILITY & BIO-FEEDBACK Testing
Biocompatibility testing is to check out what replacement composites to use AFTER the amalgams have been removed. There are numerous safe composites used for fillings to replace the mercury. It is very important to have this test done to find out what specific composites are compatible with your body chemistry. These can be tested on instruments such as the Dermatron, Computron, Interro, Vega, Xxroid, and B.E.S.T (the latter is FDA approved).

Another way of testing is through live cell or dry cell analysis with a blood sample. The materials selected in this form of testing will be in harmony with your body. These instruments uses frequency-testing by having a person hold a device connected to the instrument that monitors their frequency rates and can check out the substances that are compatible. These instruments also can be used as BIO-FEEDBACK analysis to test which metals and chemicals are present in your body and the advanced technical machines will balance frequencies that are “out of balance”. The Xxroid instrument and the latest equipment of B.E.S.T. have the “frequency balancing” capacity.

~The Patch Test
This test is a highly sensitive test for the hypersensitive patient. It will produce an exacerbation of mercury-related symptoms within 24 hours. The highly hypersensitive patient will react in an hour or less, so for this reason all patients are kept in the office for one hour after application of the patch. A reaction within one hour means that the test is over. The patch is removed, the reaction is neutralized and usually within twenty minutes the exacerbation is over. The patients that react within one hour are considered highly hypersensitive and could definitely be considered for amalgam removal.
(See Hal Huggin’s book, It’s All In Your Head, for more information.)



~Symptoms & Diseases Of Mercury Toxicity

The symptoms of mercury toxicity are lengthy, but we will attempt to bring you a list derived from several different sources: They include: Gastrointestinal problems, nervous system problems, fever, chills, fatigue, headache, insomnia, loss of sex drive, depression, numbness and tingling in hands, irritability, tremors, learning difficulties, irregular heartbeat, chest pains, sore and bleeding gums, immune suppression, birth defects, infertility, kidney/brain damage, anxiety, sensitive tongue, metallic taste in the mouth, allergies, dizziness, cataracts, insomnia, kidney damage, memory loss, nervousness, paralysis, seizures, vision loss, weakness, hearing loss, heart problems, chronic constipation, recurring diarrhea, parasites and fungus disorders, abnormal blood readings (MORE red blood cells than needed, lesions of the skin, hypersensitivity, restlessness, inability to relate to other people, poor coordination, brain fog (memory problems), monologue talking -sometimes for extremely long periods of time, difficulties in breathing, retinal bleeding, loss of interest in life, reduced capacity for work, vertigo, facial paralysis, a painful pull at the lower jaw towards the collar bone, joint pains, pains in lower back, weakness of muscles, pressure, pains, “needles” at lymph nodes under arms and in groin -also in the liver region, increased need for sleep, a gray ring around the cornea of the eye, feeling of being old, emotional problems, lack of concentration, a feeling of being disconnected from God.

Diseases related to mercury poisoning are: Alzheimer’s, all kinds of cancer, epilepsy, arthritis, pneumonia, bronchitis, gingivitis, neuralgia, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, lupus, lymphoma, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), leukemia, sinusitis, chronic asthma, hypertension, ADD (attention deficit disorder), Chrohn’s Disease, Candidiasis (binds to mercury), glomerulonephritis (disease of the kidneys), autism (from mercury in vaccines), SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), anemia, dermatitis, eczema, psoriaisis, Bruxism (grinding teeth), Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS), insomnia, Epstein Barr.

The following is from the Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Volume 11, Number 1, Spring 1998 by James P. Frackelton, MD, FACAM, and R. Lyle Christensen, PhD. taken from their table,



~Signs and Symptoms of Toxicity from Mercury Exposure

*Acute:
Interstitial pnemonitis, bronchitis, tightness or pain in chest, coughing, metallic taste, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting diarrhea, headache, dark line of mercury sulfide on gums, teeth loosen ulcers on lips and cheeks, develop psychopathologic symptoms and muscle tremors

*Chronic:
Mouth and face: inflammation, tender gums, gingivitis, teeth loosen with alveolar destruction, increased or decreased salivation, stomatitis and tongue tremors, nasal irritation, epistaxis, disturbances of taste and smell, loss of appetite, facial pallor.

*Neuralgic:
tremor of eyelids and extracular muscles, fingers, arms and legs; neuralgia, paresthesias, ataxia, exaggerated knee jerks and altered plantar reflexes, vasomotor: perspiration and blushing, personality changes, erethism, irritability, irascibility, criticalness, excitability, melancholy, depression, shyness, timidity, moroseness, fatigue, weakness, drowsiness, memory defect.




~Testing for Corrosion of Amalgam:
The rate of corrosion occurring in fillings can be estimated by measuring the electrical current generated by the fillings in the mouth. The higher the electrical currents are indicated, the greater the chemical reactivity. There are some aggravating factors in the process of amalgam corrosion.


High temperature from foods and drinks. Higher temperatures increase the rate of corrosion which in turn increases the vapor pressure of mercury.
Salty and acidic foods. These can contribute to or accelerate chemical reactions.
Rinsing the oral cavity with hydrogen peroxide. This considerably increases the oxidationrate over simple dissolved oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide can even oxidize gold.
Voluntary vomiting. This is a method of weight control practiced for centuries and probably more prevalent that suspected. This leaves high HC1,SH and elevated electrical conductivity in the mouth. The resultant increased reactions (ten times greater in aerated digestive juice) produce a marked increase in corrosion even though the length of time is relatively short. It has been noticed in studies that extremely detrimental effects of voluntary vomiting on solubility of composites in these patients.
Multitudinous bacteria capable of oxidation, reduction and methylation.

 


~Mercury & Related Issues
The Domino Effect

According to Dr. Bruce Shelton, MD (H), Di.Hom, director of the Allergy Center in Phoenix, Arizona, “Mercury amalgams are as close as you can get to the center of the illness universe, their use in dentistry has set us up for most of the health problems we see today.”

In his practice, Dr. Shelton frequently observes a domino effect of illness that begins with mercury toxicity. He reports that 90% of his patients who come in with allergies have an over-growth of the yeast-like fungus, Candida Albicans. This overgrowth can be due to heavy metals in the body, principally from mercury in the teeth, continually draining in minute amounts into body tissues.”

“The next stage” he says of the domino effect, “is that patients in this predicament typically develop leaky gut syndrome. If we do not totally digest and absorb our foods before they are broken to basic chemicals, then we have a ‘leaky gut.’… He says the “leaky gut syndrome s, in turn, to food allergies.” He remarks the soon the person becomes a universal reactor, allergic to multiple chemicals, to almost everything. Environmental illness is then at hand.

“Although dental work tends to be very expensive, if you can get a patient to have their teeth corrected, they will get well,” reports Dr. Shelton. Other contributing factors that are prevelant in this domino effect can also be an under-active thyroid, which is generally associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He says that, “Specifically, in thyroid cases, the fifth tooth from the midline of the mouth (between the two front teeth), upper and lower, in both directions, frequently has a mercury filling or a root canal, or is in a state of degeneration in this situation. In other words, “potentially four different teeth can have a thyroid connection.”

Another situation in the domino effect is the parasites, usually associated with the yeast or fungus infection. Patients or clients can have everything from tapeworms, pinworms, hookworms, etc. and these can be expelled naturally through various supplements or frequency equipment instruments, and colonics.

“Mercury then works on the Central Nervous System and damages the myelin sheath around the nerves. Heavy metals such as mercury act as free radical which are highly reactive, charged particles that can cause damage to body tissues. This cumulative poison builds up in the body with repeated exposure having devastating effects. It then can prevent nutrients from entering the cells and wastes from leaving, and block enzymes necessary for the body’s detoxification processes,” says Dr. Shelton.

Again, he says, “Mercury can bind to the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of cells, as well as to the cell membranes, distorting them and interfering with normal cell functions. When this happens, the immune system no longer recognizes the cell as part of the body and will attack it. This is the basis of an autoimmune disease.”

Note: “Free radicals are formed when molecules within cells react with oxygen (oxidize) as part of normal metabolic processes. Free radicals then begin to break down cells, especially if there are not enough free radical quenching nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, in the cell. While free radicals are normal products of metabolism, uncontrolled free-radical production plays a major role in the development of degenerative disease, including cancer and heart disease. Free radicals harmfully alter important molecules, such as proteins, enzymes, fats, even DNA. Other sources of free radicals include pesticides, industrial pollutants, smoking, alcohol, viruses, most infections, allergies, stress, even certain foods and excessive exercise.” Dr. Bruce Shelton, M.D.(H), Di.Hom.

Also Available is the Chart of Diseases Relating Specific Diseases to Specific Metals/Chemicals.



~How Mercury Affects The Nervous System

We mentioned before how the different forms of mercury develop in a conversion process. Dr. Bruce Shelton says, “After elemental mercury from amalgam fillings is inhaled or ingested, it is converted to methyl mercury, the organic form of mercury. Methyl mercury, because it easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, has been associated with neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is important to mention that as toxic as elemental mercury is, methyl mercury is 100 times more toxic!

Once it infiltrates the body, mercury becomes a neurotoxin, according to Dietrich Klinghardt , M.D., Ph.D. a specialist in neural therapy, a process using local injections of anesthetics, such as lidocaine or procaine, to remove interferences in the body’s electrical network and thus relieve chronic pain, reverse injury, and clear energy blockages. He says, “that a neurotoxin is a substance the nerve cells voluntarily absorb, even though it is poisonous. They do this out of curiosity.”

Nerve endings in the peripheral nervous system constantly scan their environment, engulfing foreign particles and bringing them across the cell membrane for inspection. These substances may then travel all the way up from the foot to the spinal cord and get presented to the nerve cells there,” Dr.Klinghardt says. Further, “If the substance is judged to be harmful, the body tries to produce an antitoxin to neutralize it and eliminate it from the body.”

There are two problems when it comes to mercury according to Dr. Klinghardt. “First, as it travels up the nerve, mercury destroys the body’s mechanism, a substance called tubulin, for transporting along nerves. Burning the bridges behind it, it effectively destroys the nerve. Second, he says, the body has not yet learned how to make an anti-neurotoxin against mercury.”

According to Dr. Klinghardt, mercury levels can slowly dissipate over time from body tissues and from the teeth but it takes a much longer time period to get it out of the brain and the nervous system. There it binds firmly to a specific chemical compound that happens to exist there in the body’s highest concentrations. He says, that “the main devastating effect of mercury in the nervous system is that it interferes with the energy production inside each cell”. “The nerve cell is impaired in its ability to detoxify itself and excrete the mercury and in its ability to nurture itself. The cell becomes toxic and dies, or lives in a state of chronic malnutrition. A multitude of illnesses, associated with neurological symptoms, usually results. These are usually chronic viral, fungal and bacterial infections.

These chronic diseases are not a cause of the failure of the immune system, but by a conscious adaptation of the immune system to deal with a lethal/toxic heavy metal environment. Some practitioners and doctors refer to this situation as, “environmental polluted body terrain.

Since the nerves are usually damaged or compromised by mercury, it seems necessary to find something to help repair that damage. An Ayurvedic product (an herbal formula) called, Herbal Balance, ReGen Nerve helps promote healthy growth of nerves and is available through the product list in this report. Also, lecithin is known to not only repair the nerve endings but to help with the memory and neutralize toxins as they are moving. Both of these seem essential in any detoxification process. Lecithin, a food, may be found at any health store in capsule or granulated form.

QUOTES

In his research of mercury Dr. Zamm says, “It led me to the fact that the biggest environmental poison facing our country is the river of mercury running down your throat. That’s the number one environmental problem they could do something about now.”
Dr. Alfred Zamm, M.D., F.A.C.P. practiced for many years in Kingston, New York.”

You wouldn’t take a leaky thermometer, put it in your mouth, and leave it there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Yet that’s what happens when an amalgam filling is installed in your mouth.”
Dr. Michael Ziff, D.D.S and Researcher and Publisher of BioProbe, a newsletter about dental amalgams.

“Mercury poisoning is impaired oxidation. It’s like having an invisible cord around your neck that’s strangling you, but you can’t feel that the cord is there. (The strangulations) is biochemical, but the principal is the same: mercury reduces the amount of oxygen that you get.”
Dr. Alfred Zamm, M.D., F.A.C.P. “.

“…mercury caused the smooth muscles in the walls of arteries to contract, thereby causing hypertension….Inorganic mercury caused blood vessel constriction and subsequent hypertension within minutes after exposure… minutes after exposure..”
Researchers at St. Louis’ Washington University (book, The Mercury In Your Mouth, by Quicksilver Associates.

Researchers at the Temple University Medical School and the Harvard Medical School found that “inorganic mercury caused actual pathological damage to the heart muscle tissue, which in turn severely decreased heart function to a point that results in a dramatic drop in blood pressure.”
The Mercury In Your Mouth, by Quicksilver Associates

“Slow healing” is in part a result of zinc deficiency. Mercury interferes with zinc metabolism.”
“Chronic fatigue” is a result of insufficient oxygen to the cells. Mercury interferes with the ability of hemoglobin to transport oxygen” and “…..ringing in the ears” is related to manganese deficiency. Mercury interferes with manganese metabolism.”
It’s All In Your Head, by Hal A. Huggins, DDS

“After he underwent a root canal at the age of 15, Earl suffered severe fatigue and anxiety. At 28, he had a nervous breakdown. At the age of 32, suffering from fatigue, anger, anxiety, back problems, low blood sugar, nervousness, ringing in his ears, concentration loss, and prematurely graying hair, he consulted acupuncturist. Dr. David J. Nickel, O.M.D., L.Ac. of Santa Monica, California performed a mercury vapor analysis on Earl’s teeth and found that the level of toxic fumes from Earl’s six mercury amalgam fillings was 42 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowable limit.
He was put on supplements and there was significant improvement in his metabolic rate and blood sugar levels, he had all six mercury amalgams and his root canal tooth removed. Earl said, “I don’t remember when I have ever felt so good.”

“Mercury is associated with 258 different symptoms and copper with over 100. Almost all my patients who had their mercury-based fillings removed show moderate to dramatic improvement in their health in usually less than one month.”
Dr. David J. Nickel, O.M.D., L.Ac of Santa Monica California (from Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia & Environmental Illness, by Burton Goldberg.

“Research has demonstrated that the body’s tissues - especially in the brain, kidneys, jaw, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and liver -absorb and store mercury.”
Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia & Environmental Illness, by Burton Goldberg
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« Reply #18 on: October 23, 2007, 01:04:54 pm »

WOW, So bacially it seems it's in everything.....As a child I remember running behind the mosquito truck and riding my bike through the spray that would thrw out to get rid of them,Can you imagine I did that...I mean we all did that as a kid it was like a big huge cloud of smoke..We would all wait for him every few weeks in the summer and ride our bikes behind him,thinking we were cool!   wrkt Wow Kathy this is something I would have never known......Thanks for putting this up for us. Love you ,Gail rockingbaby nurse_
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« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2007, 01:11:10 pm »

thanks for this article as I remember this from 60 minutes when it aired on television. the mercury in our dental fillings can cause a lot of problems.
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Debby
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« Reply #20 on: October 23, 2007, 01:14:55 pm »

i was even told to have my dental fillings removed and my lupus and fibro symptoms would go away great post!
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sunnipearl
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« Reply #21 on: October 23, 2007, 01:19:18 pm »

 bke Really Lupus and fibro, The doctor's said that! OMG! maybe I should have mine removed..But I heard once you have Lupus it never goes away? But that would make sense to me fillings filled with mercury would get rid of Lupus I bet...Wow this reserch is really something. I would of never know....Kathy wow You mentioned that to me about our fillings wow I am amazed
 girlohmy
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« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2007, 02:33:57 pm »

bke Really Lupus and fibro, The doctor's said that! OMG! maybe I should have mine removed..But I heard once you have Lupus it never goes away? But that would make sense to me fillings filled with mercury would get rid of Lupus I bet...Wow this reserch is really something. I would of never know....Kathy wow You mentioned that to me about our fillings wow I am amazed
 girlohmy
Gail
From the Mayo Clinic, here is a list of contributing factors that may cause Lupus symptoms (the mercury fillings, certain meds like blood pressure meds, breast implants, hair dye, sun, hormones, etc) is all listed below

   
* Infection. It appears that a viral or bacterial infection may trigger SLE in vulnerable people. In particular, lupus may be linked with recurrent infections with the Epstein-Barr virus, the same virus that causes mononucleosis.

    * Certain prescription medications. One of the three main forms of lupus — drug-induced lupus — results from the long-term use of certain prescription drugs. Although many drugs can potentially trigger lupus, those most clearly linked with the disease include the antipsychotic chlorpromazine, high blood pressure medications such as hydralazine, the tuberculosis drug isoniazid and the heart medication procainamide. Beta blockers have also been associated with lupus, as have some drugs used to treat arthritis and ulcers, and certain antibiotics such as minocycline. It usually takes several months or years of therapy with these drugs before symptoms appear, and even then, only a small percentage of people will ever develop lupus. Unlike SLE, drug-induced lupus affects more men than women, primarily because men are more likely to develop chronic conditions that require long-term treatment. And unlike other types of lupus, symptoms such as joint pain and swelling, fever, and fatigue usually disappear after stopping the medication, although you may require short-term treatment with NSAIDs or corticosteroids.

    * Sunlight. Exposure to the sun may bring on lupus skin lesions or trigger an internal response in susceptible people. Exactly why ultraviolet radiation has this effect isn't well understood, but scientists suspect that sunlight may cause skin cells to express certain proteins on their surface. Antibodies that are normally present in the body then latch onto these proteins, initiating an inflammatory response. Damaged skin cells also seem to die more frequently in people with lupus, leading to even more inflammation.

    * Hormones. Because so many more women than men have SLE, researchers think that female hormones, particularly estrogen, may play a role in the disease. The exact mechanism isn't known, but some women with lupus report that their symptoms become worse during menstruation and pregnancy and with the use of birth control pills or hormone therapy. On the other hand, although the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment (SELENA) trial found a small risk of increased mild to moderate flares of the disease in menopausal women treated with hormone therapy, severe flares were rare. In addition, studies suggest that oral contraceptives are well tolerated by most but not all women with lupus.

Many other factors have been suggested as possible causes of lupus, including stress, certain foods, the artificial sweetener aspartame, silicone breast implants, mercury dental fillings, hair dye, and pesticides and other toxic chemicals. To date, no clear link has been found between these factors and lupus.
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« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2007, 03:08:40 pm »

 I have always heard there is suppose to be a link with Lupus to
the artificial sweetener, breast implants and toxic chemicals.
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« Reply #24 on: October 31, 2007, 10:34:02 pm »

October 31, 2007
Depression and pain to be treated separatelyA new study conducted by University of Michigan Health System suggests that depression and chronic pain should be treated separately.

The team led by Daniel J. Clauw used functional imaging of the brain to determine that in patients with the chronic pain syndrome fibromyalgia, their level of depression has little influence on the intensity of pain they experience.

The study involved 33 women and 20 men with fibromyalgia along with 42 healthy companion participants. The testing included a measurement of pain experienced by subjects based on their tolerance of pressure applied to their left thumbnails using a hard rubber probe.

Using functional MRI (fMRI) scans, researchers compared the subjects' magnitude of pain, experimental pain sensitivity and symptoms of depression. It was found that in fibromyalgia patients, much less pressure was required to activate the neurons associated with acute pain in the brain's sensory domain than among the healthy controls.


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« Reply #25 on: October 31, 2007, 10:40:15 pm »

Fibromyalgia Genesis May Mirror Neuronal Miscommunication

   
  By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
October 31, 2007
 
 
 Fibromyalgia might have its origin in a mismatch between input from motor and sensory neurons, investigators here reported.

Almost 90% of a group of fibromyalgia patients reported changes in sensory perception during a study of what the investigators called congruent and incongruent limb movement, compared with half of healthy volunteers, Candy S. McCabe, Ph.D., of the University of Bath, and colleagues, reported in the November issue of Rheumatology.

The so-called congruent and incongruent limb movements were performed with and without a mirror. When the mirror was used, participants looked at the reflection of one arm while the other arm was hidden behind the mirror and moving in a different direction. The effect was to create a mismatch between what the brain saw and what it felt. Action Points

Explain to interested patients that the study shows that fibromyalgia might represent a mismatch or miscommunication between sensory and motor neurons.
"We would propose that sensory-motor conflict may perpetuate some of the somaesthetic disturbances reported in [fibromyalgia]," the authors concluded. "This may occur either because an individual has an innate vulnerability to sensory-motor disturbances and/or they develop a heightened awareness, or reduced threshold, to the daily minor sensory changes that are generated when predicted sensory feedback does not match actual."


The presence of chronic pain in fibromyalgia patients without evidence of overt pathology has vexed clinicians for decades. Efforts to explain the dissociation have focused on peripheral and central pain mechanisms.


Some researchers have proposed that symptoms of chronic pain syndromes arise from a neural pattern generated by a genetically predetermined neuromatrix. One possible influence on the neuromatrix might be vulnerability to detection and response to sensory-motor conflict, the authors noted.


Continuing the examination of sensory-motor conflict and its role in pain syndromes, Dr. McCabe and colleagues studied 29 fibromyalgia patients and 14 healthy volunteers. Participants performed a series of upper and lower limb movements that were either congruent or incongruent.


The investigators found that 26 of 29 fibromyalgia patients reported sensing a transient increase in pain, change in temperature, or heaviness in the hidden limb. The sensations mimicked what occurs during a fibromyalgia flare up. In contrast, half of the volunteers reported the sensations.


"We have shown that by confusing the motor and sensory systems we can exacerbate the symptoms felt by people diagnosed with the condition," said Dr. McCabe. "This adds to a growing body of evidence that many of the symptoms of this common disorder may be perpetuated, or even triggered, by this sensory-motor conflict."


The authors declared no conflicts of interest. 

 
 
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« Reply #26 on: November 03, 2007, 11:35:20 am »

Forest Laboratories and Cypress Bioscience to Host Webcast to Discuss Clinical Data Presentations for Milnacipran




 Forest Laboratories, Inc. , and Cypress Bioscience, Inc. will host a webcast to discuss milnacipran clinical data being presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual conference. The webcast, which will include a slide presentation, will occur on November 8, 2007 at 10:00am EST. Representing Forest Laboratories will be Dr. Lawrence Olanoff, President and Chief Operating Officer of Forest and representing Cypress Bioscience will be Dr. Jay Kranzler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cypress.

Also presenting on the webcast will be Dr. Daniel J. Clauw and Dr. Philip Mease, two milnacipran study investigators that will provide an overview of fibromyalgia syndrome and the current challenges faced by both patients and physicians in managing this complex disease, as well as discuss the milnacipran data findings being presented at ACR.

The webcast can be accessed at the URL: http://phx.corporate- ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=83198&eventID=1686016 (Due to the length of the link, please copy and paste into you're browser.)

The webcast will also be available on the Forest Laboratories and Cypress Bioscience websites at www.frx.com and www.cypressbio.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available until December 8, 2007 on both websites.


About Milnacipran:

Milnacipran is a unique dual-reuptake inhibitor, which preferentially blocks the reuptake of norepinephrine with higher potency than serotonin, two neurotransmitters known to play an essential role in regulating pain and mood. It has been approved for the treatment of depression in over 32 countries and has been used by more than 5 million patients during more than 10 years of commercial availability outside the U.S. Milnacipran is being developed for fibromyalgia in the United States market jointly by Forest and its licensor, Cypress Bioscience, Inc.

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« Reply #27 on: November 05, 2007, 11:12:05 am »

Researchers Find Possible Cause of Pain in Fibromyalgia

Researchers at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom are reporting that they may have found the cause of the mysterious pain in patients with fibromyalgia. Their research points to a mismatch between the sensory and motor systems
Fibromyalgia has been a mystery condition for years because there are no clinical reasons for the pain, and yet there is a great deal of very debilitating pain, and for this reason, some doctors do not recognize fibromyalgia as a real disease. But at the same time, fibromyalgia is one of the conditions that are the most prevalent among all those seen by a rheumatologist.

In the study, they asked fibromyalgia patients to look at a reflection of one of their arms moving in one direction while simultaneously moving their other arm, which was hidden behind the mirror, in a different direction. The brain saw a reflection of the arm in front of the mirror doing one thing, but it knew that the arm behind the mirror was doing something else. In healthy people, there would have been no pain.

By dong this, you create a mismatch between what the brain sees by using the sensory system and what the brain feels by way of the motor system.

Out of the 29 participants, 26 said they had a feeling of a pain increase that lasted for a short time, a change in temperature or heaviness in the hidden arm, all of which are symptoms of a fibromyalgia flare up.

They had the participants perform some more bilateral movements with both their arms and legs with a mirror in front of them being at a right angle. One of the limbs was behind the mirror, just as in the first test. First they had them do the same movements with both of their arms or legs, then they had them make a different move with each one. Almost everyone in the group said they experienced an increase in the symptoms of fibromyalgia in the hidden arm or leg.

Patients with fibromyalgia experience allover pain, tender joints, stiffness, trouble sleeping and constant fatigue.

Close to 90% of fibromyalgia patients are women and it usually strikes between 30 and 60 years of age. But it has been found to start up in the elderly and in young children as well.

The lead researcher on the project is Dr Candy McCabe, of the University of Bath and Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases .
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« Reply #28 on: November 08, 2007, 10:35:56 am »

MayoClinic.com Focuses on Diagnosing Fibromyalgia Symptoms




 Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points.

A new feature on MayoClinic.com provides users with information regarding the process for diagnosing fibromyalgia. Because there is no single, specific diagnostic laboratory test, diagnosis can be difficult. Physicians must rely on patient histories, self-reported symptoms, a physical examination and an accurate manual tender-point examination.

Signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary, depending on the weather, stress, physical activity or even the time of day. Common signs and symptoms include:


~Widespread pain
~Fatigue and sleep disturbances
~Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
~Headaches and facial pain
~Heightened sensitivity

The American College of Rheumatology has established general classification guidelines for fibromyalgia to help assess and study the condition. According to these guidelines, to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, individuals must have experienced widespread aching pain for at least three months and have a minimum of 11 locations on their body that are abnormally tender under relatively mild, firm pressure.

The new feature on MayoClinic.com also provides an overview of treatment options, self-care suggestions, and tips to help people who have fibromyalgia cope with the condition.


 

 
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« Reply #29 on: November 08, 2007, 10:40:35 pm »

Milnacipran Demonstrated Significant Improvement in Pain and the Core Symptoms of Fibromyalgia Syndrome, Data Show




 Total daily dosages of milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both pain and other core symptoms associated with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), according to Phase III data presented this week at the 2007 American College of Rheumatology meeting in Boston, MA. The therapeutic effects of milnacipran among responders in a six-month study were sustained for up to one year in a double-blind extension trial.


Although widespread chronic pain is the defining characteristic of FMS, it typically occurs as part of a broader spectrum of symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and reduced physical function. Milnacipran is the first treatment studied for fibromyalgia whose effectiveness has been evaluated utilizing a composite responder approach which requires, on a patient-by- patient basis, concurrent improvements across multiple FMS domains. As such, composite responder analyses represent a more stringent assessment of therapeutic effect than the evaluation of individual symptoms.

To be considered a responder for the composite "pain of fibromyalgia" endpoint, each patient had to demonstrate concurrent and clinically meaningful improvements in two validated measures: pain and global impression of disease status. In addition to meeting those criteria, responders for the composite "treatment of the fibromyalgia syndrome" endpoint also had to demonstrate improvement in a third validated measure: physical function. The results of two Phase III trials showed that milnacipran demonstrated improvement compared to placebo in treating both the pain of fibromyalgia, as well as the broader syndrome of fibromyalgia. Furthermore, data from a six-month extension study showed that the therapeutic effects of milnacipran were sustained for up to one year of therapy.

"Because patients with fibromyalgia experience a wide array of symptoms that can overlap with other conditions, diagnosis and treatment can be complicated. Currently, many doctors are using multiple medications to treat the various symptoms of fibromyalgia," said Daniel J. Clauw, MD, lead investigator, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan. "There is a real unmet need for a therapy that not only relieves pain but addresses the functional and physical aspects of the illness that can have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life."

~Study Methodology

In two double-blind, placebo-controlled, pivotal Phase III studies (Study MLN-MD-02 and Study FMS-031), the two parallel, primary efficacy assessments consisted of composite responder analyses for the treatment of both fibromyalgia syndrome and the pain of fibromyalgia. Pain composite responders were defined as individuals who achieved both a greater than or equal to 30% reduction in pain compared to baseline as measured by a visual analog scale recorded daily on an electronic patient experience diary, and who rated themselves as "very much improved" or "much improved" on a Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale. Fibromyalgia syndrome composite responders needed to satisfy the pain composite criteria as well as demonstrate at least a 6-point improvement in their SF-36 physical component summary (SF-36 PCS) score.

In Study MLN-MD-02, 1196 patients were randomized to receive either milnacipran 100 mg/day (n=399), 200 mg/day (n=396) or placebo (n=401) over a three-month period, 67.7% of whom completed the trial.

In Study FMS-031, 888 patients were randomized to receive either milnacipran 100 mg/day (n=224), 200 mg/day (n=441) or placebo (n=223) for six- months, 63.6% of whom completed three-months of treatment, and 57.6% of whom completed the full six-months of double-blind treatment. Results were assessed for all patients at both the three- and six-month visits.

Patients who completed the full six-months of treatment in Study FMS-031 were eligible to enroll in a multi-center, dose-blinded, extension study designed to evaluate durability of response up to one year. A total of 449 patients were either maintained at 200 mg/day (n=209) or re-randomized to 100 mg/day (n=48) or 200 mg/day (n=192) for an additional six months. Efficacy assessments included change in pain, as measured using a paper visual analog scale, and multidimensional symptomatic improvements, as measured using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and PGIC.

~Data Highlights

Results reported below are based on observed cases, which include only patients who were evaluable at the landmark visit. In study MLN-MD-02, there were 713 evaluable patients for the fibromyalgia syndrome and pain analyses (n=236 for 100 mg, n=215 for 200 mg, and n=262 for placebo).

In study FMS-031, at the three-month visit there were 549 evaluable patients for the syndrome analysis (n=134 for 100 mg, n=259 for 200 mg, and n=156 for placebo), and 553 evaluable patients for the pain analysis (n=135 for 100 mg, n=260 for 200 mg, and n=158 for placebo). At the six-month visit there were 488 evaluable patients for the fibromyalgia syndrome analysis (n=120 for 100 mg, n=229 for 200 mg, and n=139 for placebo), and 491 evaluable patients for the fibromyalgia pain analysis (n=121 for 100 mg, n=230 for 200 mg, and n=140 for placebo).

Composite responder rates for fibromyalgia syndrome (pain, PGIC, and SF-36 PCS)

    -- A statistically significant number of patients treated with milnacipran
       during Study MLN-MD-02 met the composite syndrome responder criteria
       (25% and 26% for the milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg groups,
       respectively) compared to patients treated with placebo (13%).
    -- A statistically significant number of patients treated with milnacipran
       during Study FMS-031 also met the composite syndrome responder criteria
       at three months (33% and 33% for the milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg
       groups, respectively) compared to patients treated with placebo (17%).
       Statistically significant differences were also observed at the six-
       month visit: 33% and 32% of patients met responder criteria for the
       milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg groups, respectively, compared to 19% of
       patients in the placebo group.

    Composite responder rates for fibromyalgia pain (pain and PGIC)
    -- A statistically significant number of patients treated with milnacipran
       during Study MLN-MD-02 met the composite pain responder criteria (39%
       and 46% in the milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg groups, respectively)
       compared to patients treated with placebo (25%).
    -- A statistically significant number of patients treated with milnacipran
       during Study FMS-031 also met the composite pain responder criteria at
       three months (45% and 45% in the milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg groups,
       respectively) compared to patients treated with placebo (27%).
       Statistically significant differences were also observed at the six-
       month visit: 44% and 45% of patients met the composite pain responder
       criteria in the milnacipran 100 mg and 200 mg groups, respectively,
       compared to 28% of patients in placebo group.
~Tolerability

Milnacipran was generally well-tolerated, with the majority of adverse events (AEs) reported being mild to moderate in nature.

    -- The most common treatment emergent AEs during the placebo-controlled
       clinical trials included nausea (37% vs. 20% placebo), headache (18%
       vs. 14% placebo), constipation (16% vs. 4% placebo), hot flushes (12%
       vs. 2% placebo), hyperhidrosis (9% vs. 2 % placebo), vomiting (7% vs.
       2%), palpitations (7% vs. 2%), heart rate increase (6% vs. 1% placebo),
       dry mouth (5% vs. 2%) and hypertension (5% vs. 2%).
    -- Milnacipran did not cause weight gain.
~Development Plans

On September 28, 2005, Forest and Cypress reported that preliminary top- line results from Study FMS-031 did not achieve statistical significance. Subsequently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised its guidelines for approval of FMS therapies and agreed to allow the Companies to re-assess the data based on an updated analysis approach, which included a change from LOCF (last observation carried forward) to BOCF (baseline observation carried forward) analysis as well as other changes in the use of primary endpoints for efficacy evaluation. Using the revised analyses, a daily dose of 200 mg milnacipran produced statistically significant differences compared to placebo for both the fibromyalgia syndrome and pain of fibromyalgia composite endpoints. Also, compared to placebo, a daily dose of 100 mg milnacipran produced a statistically significant difference on the fibromyalgia syndrome composite endpoint and trended toward significance on the pain of fibromyalgia composite endpoint (p= .056). These data will be included as part of the New Drug Application (NDA) for milnacipran for the treatment of FMS, planned for submission around the end of 2007.

The Companies will review these data and the status of the milnacipran development timeline during an investor call on Thursday, November 8, 10:00 - 11:00 AM ET. To participate in the call, please use the following URL: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol- eventDetails&c=83198&eventID=1686016. (Due to the length of the link, please copy and paste into your browser.)

The webcast can also be accessed from both the Forest and Cypress corporate websites: www.cypressbio.com or www.frx.com.

About Milnacipran

Milnacipran is a unique dual-reuptake inhibitor, which preferentially blocks the reuptake of norepinephrine with higher potency than serotonin, two neurotransmitters known to play an essential role in regulating pain and mood. It has been approved for the treatment of depression in over 32 countries, with real-world commercial experience outside the U.S. spanning more than 10 years and 20 million patient-months. Milnacipran is being developed for fibromyalgia in the United States market jointly by Forest and its licensor, Cypress Biosciences, Inc. Milnacipran was originally developed by and is sold outside of the U.S. by Pierre Fabre Medicament.

~About Fibromyalgia

FMS is a chronic and debilitating condition characterized by widespread pain and stiffness throughout the body, accompanied by severe fatigue, insomnia and mood symptoms. According to the American College of Rheumatology, FMS is estimated to affect over six million people in the United States. FMS is most often diagnosed in the primary care setting and, in addition, is the second most commonly diagnosed condition in rheumatology clinics in the United States after osteoarthritis. Despite the high prevalence and severity of this syndrome, there are limited treatment options specifically approved for FMS in the United States or elsewhere, and the addressable patient population is not yet well established.

~About Cypress

Cypress is committed to being an innovator and leader in providing products for the treatment of patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome. As part of its business development strategy, the company evaluates a number of Proof of Concept stage opportunities that leverage its repurposing experience and innovative approach to clinical trial design and regulatory strategy, and intend to continue to do this on an ongoing basis. The company continues to evaluate various other potential strategic transactions, including the potential acquisition of products, product candidates, technologies and companies.




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