For Tigger, Re: no relief from pain symptoms - Caroline (opioid receptors)

[Guest guest]

>

> Tigger, you might want to print this article out and give it to

your doctor, it does help explain what goes on with us. In short, our

brains lack the opioid receptors that 'normals' have. Here's a

summary from the cited source:

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> Decreased central mu-opioid receptor availability: reason of poor

opioid response in fibromyalgia patients

> 2007/11/02

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> The findings of a new study on the role of central mu-opioid

receptors in fibromyalgia which were reported by Dr. E.

and colleagues (Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of

Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI) in the September issue of the Journal of

Neuroscience, indicate an altered endogenous opioid analgesic

activity in fibromyalgia. This may be a possible reason for why

exogenous opiates have reduced efficacy in these patients.

>

> While neurophysiological mechanisms of acute pain have been fairly

well characterized, the central mechanisms operative in chronic pain

states are less well understood. Altered central neurotransmission is

considered an underlying cause of one of the most common chronic pain

condition, fibromyalgia (FM). This condition is characterized by

widespread pain.

> In the current study, the researchers included 17 FM patients and

17 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and they compared both

groups using positron emission tomography with a selective mu-opioid

receptor (MOR) radiotracer. et al. demonstrated that FM

patients display reduced MOR binding potential within several regions

known to play a role in pain processing. These regions include the

nucleus accumbens, the amygdala, and the dorsal cingulate.

> MOR binding potential in the accumbens of FM patients was

negatively correlated with affective pain ratings. Moreover, MOR

binding potential throughout the cingulate and the striatum was also

negatively correlated with the relative amount of affective pain

within these patients - as assessed with the McGill pain

questionnaire, affective score/sensory score.

> Dr. stated that the decreased availability of the mu-opioid

receptor which was more pronounced in patients reporting more

pain, " may be due to fibromyalgia patients having fewer receptors

and/or enhanced release of endogenous opioids. And he added, “one

implication of this finding is that opiate drugs would not be very

effective at reducing pain in these patientsâ€.

> The research findings on mu-opioid receptor availability are

clinically relevant, “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 " .

>

> RE, Clauw DJ, DJ, et al.. Decreased central mu-opioid

receptor availability in fibromyalgia.

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> http://www.medpagetoday.com/Geriatrics/PainManagement/tb/6811

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> Peace and Love

> Caroline

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