A study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Michigan and published in this months issue of Arthritis and Rheumatism found that there are differences in the pain processing centers of the brain in patients with fibromyalgia when compared to others without the disease.

Researchers performed MRIs of the brain on patients and non patients and found that those suffering from fibromyalgia had more activity and connectivity in regions of the brain that perform pain processing.

Up until about ten years ago many doctors didn’t know what to think about fibromyalgia and many didn’t think that it even existed as a disease process. The feeling was that the pain was secondary to psychological problems that usually accompany the problem. It’s possible that this study will be an important part of the puzzle in understanding this confusing disease. bjmdjd

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Arthritis and Rheumatism · fibromyalgia · Massachusetts General Hospital · MRI of the brain · Univ. of Michigan