title: Skin Temperature during Cold Pressor Test in Fibromyalgia: an Evaluation of the Autonomic Nervous System?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common chronic pain disorder characterized by whole-body pain and multiple symptoms. This study investigated potential dysfunctions of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in FM patients through the measurement of the autonomic response during a cold-water test.
  
  
  METHODS
  23 female patients with FM and 15 healthy female controls were recruited. First, FM patients filled out the following questionnaires: PainDETECT, American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria of FM, and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Healthy controls only filled out the POMS. Subsequently, all participants immersed their forearm into 1 degrees C cold-water as long as they could tolerate for a maximum of 120 seconds. A thermographic camera recorded skin temperature and its recuperation process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups differed significantly regarding central body temperature, forearm thermography, and peripheral (forearm)-central (ear) temperature ratio. FM patients showed less tolerance to cold water than control participants. Although total temperature decrease, cool-down rate, recuperation between 0 and 20 minutes after withdrawal showed significant intergroup differences, thermal recovery followed similar patterns in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peculiar ANS baseline characteristics are seen in FM patients. Although those patients have reduced ability to sustain low temperatures, therefore limiting extrapolation of inter-group analysis, their thermal-adaptive responses were found different as compared to controls.
authors.forename: Griet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brusselmans
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Elien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Schamphelaere
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Devulder
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crombez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012881:Skin Temperature