title: Understanding the fibromyalgia syndrome.
abstract: The fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is the most frequent cause of chronic, widespread pain. This review, which is targeted at the psychiatry and psychopharmacology communities, summarizes the state-of-the-art as it relates to both the pathophysiology and treatment of FMS. Toward this end, the anatomy and physiology of pain pathways are summarized, followed by a review of the altered biology of pain processing, neurotransmitter function, and neuroendocrine systems in FMS. The categories of current drugs employed to treat the disorder are detailed, along with a critical review of the literature supporting such use.
authors.affiliation: Cypress Bioscience, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Srinivas G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Judith F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gendreau
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kranzler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology; D059906:Neuroimaging; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000502:physiology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology; D013373:Substance P / Q000502:physiology; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D013373:Substance P