Blog-Posts

2D4D is not the name of Han Solo’s (Star Wars) robot sidekick but represents the length ratio of index to ring finger. Interestingly, this ratio predicts the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis [...]

In a study of 110 patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and 91 healthy donors peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were collected and exposed to mitogenic activators PHA or PMA in combination with ionomycin. The cytokine concentrations of IFN-g, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, MIP-1ß , MCP-1, and MIP1-a in plasma as well…

http://youtu.be/u1y-19z-2-I Rubbing or massaging is often an instinctive response to pain. Now researchers have found that another kind of touch, vibration, can also help reduce certain types of pain by more than 40 percent. The researchers are encouraged by the prospect that vibration therapies could bring pill-free pain relief…

Dextromethorphan, an over-the-counter medication that silences coughs, may help fibromyalgia patients quiet over-reacting nerves that amplify ordinary touches into agony. A University of Florida study documents, for the first time, that dextromethorphan temporarily reduces the intensity of fibromyalgia “wind-up,” a snowballing pain response to minor, repetitive physical contact. The…

A University of Florida rheumatologist who specializes in treating a number of chronic pain conditions is urging physicians and their patients to carefully consider all the alternatives before using drugs in a family known as COX-2 inhibitors. “The higher the selectivity of these enzyme inhibitors, the greater the cardiovascular effects,”…

The cause of fibromyalgia, a common syndrome characterized by severe fatigue and heightened sensitivity to muscle and tissue pain, has evaded easy explanation. Now University of Florida researchers will use $1.2 million in federal grant money to try to pinpoint the biological basis of the chronic disorder, which primarily afflicts…