Reader\'s Digest Australia - 05.2019

24 | May• 2019

HEALTH

great majority of sufferers, possibly

by boosting endorphins, reducing

stress, improving sleep or increasing

blood flow to the muscles.

Another common fibromyalgia

treatment is cognitive behavioural

therapy (CBT). It won’t eliminate

your pain, but this approach will

give you tools for coping with it. CBT

will teach you to pace yourself and

remain somewhat active, even on

highly symptomatic days.

It’s important to have realistic

expectations for current

treatments, since they tend to

bring moderate improvement at

best. “There’s still a great need to

understand this condition better

and bring optimal care to these

patients,” Dr Macfarlane says.

Fibromyalgia’s all-too-

real symptoms can

be debilitating. Too

often, so is the medical

community’s response

to patients suffering

with its symptoms,

which are challenging

to diagnose because

they coincide with

those of other

disorders.

Recently, however,

a diagnostic blood

test for fibromyalgia

called FM/a test

has been made

available. It detects

fibromyalgia through

the identification

of white blood cell

abnormalities. It is

currently available for

patients in countries

outside the US,

such as Australia,

New Zealand and

Hong Kong but only

with authorisation

from a healthcare

professional.

Patients whom the

blood test diagnoses

as having fibromyalgia

may also be able to

take part in a genomic

survey investigating

genetic biomarkers

for fibromyalgia,

according to

EpicGenetics, the

company that

developed the

FM/a blood test.

Currently, there

is also a clinical

trial underway into

whether the Calmette-

Guerin (BCG) vaccine

can be used to treat

fibromyalgia. The

BCG vaccine has

been known to boost

production of the

cytokine tumour

necrosis factor, which

can aid autoimmune

diseases. The research

is expected to take

about four years.

Blood Test and Studies Bring Hope

A blood test for

fibromyalgia is now

available