Time magazine cover story on Pain

In a cover story on pain, today's Time Magazine reports that Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients have more active nerve responses which amplify pain receptors throughout the body. Also that Fibromyalgia patients frequently have lower levels of endorphins compared to those who don't have the condition. In addition an adaptive mechanism in which severe pain in one area of the body inhibits pain in another is impaired among women with fibromyalgia. There is also an interesting discussion on gene therapy as a possible way to treat chronic pain.

The article ends with a discussion on the role of psychiatry . Unfortunately  in ME, psychiatry denies that the pain is real.

ref : Alice Park, Healing the Hurt. Finding new ways to treat Pain. Time Magazine March 21 2011 pp30-34

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