A Pioneer in Fibromyalgia research has Changed His Opinion About Fibromyalgia

Recently, an article in the Wall Street Journal suggested that Dr. Frederick Wolfe (director of the National Databank for Rheumatic Disease) has changed his opinion since coauthoring a paper that set forth diagnostic rules for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia in 1990. At that time Dr. Wolfe believed that a new disease had been discovered; Dr Wolfe now suggests that fibromyalia is clearly not a disease and he and other researchers should not have “given individuals who are experiencing this chronic pain an illness to attach their symptoms too. In fact, Dr. Wolfe and many others believe that fibromyalgia symptoms are nothing more than physical reactions to stress, depression, or anxiety.

As many as ten million Americans alone suffer this debilitating chronic pain condition known as fibromyalgia, and no matter what some physicians theories are as to the cause of fibromyalgia, the condition is now considered to be a valid medical condition by health insurance companies. There is no doubt that many medical professionals are still of the opinion that fibromyalgia is not a disease or disorder in and of itself. This opinion is most likely reinforced by the fact that physicians often find themselves diagnosing fibromyalgia when they can find no other cause for an individual’s chronic pain and fatigue.

Still, there are other physicians such as Dr Charles Kim (pain specialist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine), who believe that fibromyalgia is a bona fide disease or condition whose cause has not yet been fully understood, and the fact that medical research has not provided an exact cause for the condition does not render it invalid.

Ironically, last June Pfizer marketed a new drug for fibromyalia know as Lyrica, and the drug has been a huge commercial success. In fact, it has been so successful that there are two other companies who are going to market drugs for the conditions. Ironically, the FDA has approved one drug for a condition and most likely will approve other medications for a “condition” whose very existence is still being debated in the medical field.









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