Dan S. Heffez, Ruth E. Ross, Yvonne Shade-Zeldow, Konstantinos Kostas, Mary Morissey, Dean A. Elias, Alan Shepard. (Eur Spine J, published on-line April 11, 2007)

Dr. Heffez and his team published in the recent on-line version of the European Spine Journal their data regarding the 12-month follow-up with 71 patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia who also exhibited the neurological signs of cervical myelopathy. The 71 patients were a subgroup of the 270 patients Dr. Heffez described in his earlier article (Clinical evidence for cervical myelopathy due to Chiari malformation and spinal stenosis in a non-randomized group of patients with the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (Eur Spine J 13:516-523).

Dr. Heffez reports that of the 71 patients who completed all follow-up questionnaires, 40 received surgical treatment for cervical myelopathy, and 31 received non-surgical treatment. The study reports there was significant improvement in the fibromyalgia symptoms at one year in the surgical group but not the non-surgical group.

You can view the entire Abstract of the article by Clicking Here. Dr. Heffez presented the results of this study at the September 2006 NFRA Symposium, Fibromyalgia and the Central Nervous System. You can order the DVD of his presentation, by Clicking Here. (This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Fibromyalgia Research Association.)

Learn more about the overlapping symptoms of cervical myelopathy and fibromyalgia by reviewing the Central Nervous System section of this website. Share the DVD and abstracts with your physician and encourage them to seek full copies of Dr. Heffez ’ s articles.

Gabapentin in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Lesley M. Arnold, Don L. Goldenberg, Sharon B. Stanford, Justine K. Lalonde, H.S. Sandhu, Paul E. Keck, Jr., Jeffrey A. Weige, Fred Bishop, Kevin E. Stanford, Evelyn V. Hess, and James I. Hudson.

Gabapentin (trade name Neurontin) is FDA-approved for the management of postherpetic neuralgia and the treatment of partial seizures. It has been used “off-label” effectively for the treatment of fibromyalgia by many physicians. This NIH-funded study is the first published report of a randomized, placebo-controlled study to evaluate gabapentin in the treatment of fibromyalgia. The study concludes that Gabapentin (1,200-2,400 mg/day) is safe and useful for the treatment of pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms. You can view the entire Abstract of the article by Clicking Here.