title: Chronic Pain in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Utility of Sensory Quantitative Testing in Patients with Fibromyalgia Comorbidity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lower thermal and discomfort thresholds may predispose multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to chronic pain, but a possible effect of fibromyalgia (FM) comorbidity has never been investigated. Aims were to investigate the thermal and discomfort thresholds in the evaluation of pain intensity between MS patients with FM (PFM+) and MS patients with pain not associated to FM (PFM-).
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred thirty three MS patients were investigated for chronic pain. FM was assessed according to the 1990 ACR diagnostic criteria. An algometer was used to measure the thresholds in the patients and 60 matched healthy subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic pain was present in 88 (66.2%) patients; 12 (13.6%) had neuropathic pain, 22 (17.3%) were PFM+ and 65 (48.9%) PFM-. PFM+ were predominantly female (p = 0.03) and had a greater EDSS (p = 0.01) than NoP; no other significant differences emerged than PFM-. The thresholds were lower in MS patients than controls (p < 0.01), mainly in the PFM+. FM severity influenced the thermal threshold (p < 0.001), while the female gender influenced the discomfort threshold (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thermal and discomfort thresholds were lower in patients than controls and were the lowest in PFM+. Their more severely impaired thermal threshold supports a neurophysiological basis of such association.
authors: IRCCS Fondazione 'Santa Lucia'; UO 'E' Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Rome, Italy.
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: Pompa
authors: Allessandro
authors: A
authors: Clemenzi
authors: Elio
authors: E
authors: Troisi
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Pace
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Casillo
authors: Sheila
authors: S
authors: Catani
authors: Maria Grazia
authors: MG
authors: Grasso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D017288:Pain Threshold