title: Elevated levels of hyaluronic acid in the sera of women with fibromyalgia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate serum levels of hyaluronic acid (HA) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).
  
  
  METHODS
  HA serum levels were evaluated by a radiometric assay in 42 women with FM (ACR criteria), 27 female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 36 healthy female controls matched for age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HA serum levels (mean microg/l +/- SEM) were 41 +/- 8.7 in healthy controls; 113 +/- 15.9 in RA: and 420 +/- 26 in FM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HA serum levels in women with FM were significantly elevated compared to healthy controls and patients with RA. This observation suggests that FM is associated with a biochemical abnormality and that serum HA could be a laboratory marker for its diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Souraski Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, Israel.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yaron
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buskila
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shirazi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Elkayam
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paran
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid