Psychiatric problems in fibromyalgia: clinical and neurobiological links between mood disorders and fibromyalgia

Published: 28 September 2012
Abstract Views: 2465
PDF: 1389
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Objectives. To review the literature addressing the relationship between mood disorders and fibromyalgia/chronic pain and our current understanding of overlapping pathophysiological processes and pain and depression circuitry. Methods. We selectively reviewed articles on the co-occurrence of mood disorders and fibromyalgia/chronic pain published between 1990 and July 2012 in PubMed. Bibliographies and cross references were considered and included when appropriate. Results. Forty-nine out of 138 publications were retained for review. The vast majority of the studies found an association between depression and fibromyalgia. There is evidence that depression is often accompanied by symptoms of opposite polarity characterised by heights of mood, thinking and behaviour that have a considerable impact on pharmacological treatment. Recent developments support the view that the high rates of fibromyalgia and mood disorder comorbidity is generated by largely overlapping pathophysiological processes in the brain, that provide a neurobiological basis for the bidirectional, mutually exacerbating and disabling relationship between pain and depression. Conclusions. The finding of comparable pathophysiological characteristics of pain and depression provides a framework for understanding the relationship between the two conditions and sheds some light on neurobiological and therapeutic aspects.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Alciati, A., Sgiarovello, P., Atzeni, F., & Sarzi-Puttini, P. (2012). Psychiatric problems in fibromyalgia: clinical and neurobiological links between mood disorders and fibromyalgia. Reumatismo, 64(4), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2012.268

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.