EpicGenetics a company from Santa Monica in California has developed a test (the FM-test) for detecting fibromyalgia and presented it at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego, USA.
The test measures proteins in the body that reduce pain. “Proteins that fibromyalgia patients cannot produce in normal amounts,” says Bruce Gilles, company CEO and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. The developers of the FM-test compared the results of 100 lupus patients, 98 rheumatoid arthritis patients, 160 fibromyalgia patients and 119 healthy people
“Eighty-three percent of people with fibromyalgia and 89% of those without fibromyalgia were identified correctly with the test,” explains Bruce Gillis.
“But if this test is objective, very precise and definitive, it still costs 541 euros and its use is currently quite limited. Moreover, these results should be considered preliminary. This test must be tested on a larger scale and validated by outside medical experts,” recalls Scott Zashin, professor of clinical medicine at the University of Texas (United States).
Fibromyalgia, a disease difficult to diagnose
“The biggest problem with fibromyalgia, is the skepticism of doctors about his diagnosis. Too often they tend to see the patient as depressed or hypochondriac. Our test, if validated, will make it possible to legitimize the diagnosis and help patients to be treated more quickly”, concludes Bruce Gillis.
Indeed, the diagnosis of fibromyalgia is currently difficult to make, its main symptoms being also present in other diseases. Françoise Bécavin, President of the French Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, recalls that “patients suffering from fibromyalgia know the cause of their symptoms after a very long medical process that often lasts a year. »
Fibromyalgia, a painful disease
Chronic pain, persistent fatigue, sleeping troubles, fibromyalgia is also manifested by bloating, transit disorders (constipation, diarrhea), abdominal pain and spasms, slow digestion, heartburn… and sometimes also strong anxiety and symptoms of depression.
Its definition is as follows: “Spontaneous bilateral diffuse musculoskeletal painful state evolving for more than 3 months associated with the presence of a minimum of 11 tendino-muscular points out of 18 listed”. Fibromyalgia means “fibro” for fibrous tissue, tendons; “myo” for muscle; “algia” for pain.
Fibromyalgia is a disease that concerns between 2 and 5% of the French population.
