New research indicates that the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia is linked to central nervous system abnormalities evidenced by patients' elevated sensitivity to auditory and pressure sensations.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of MIchigan and is published in The Journal of Pain.

The researchers studied 31 fibromyalgia patients to determine if there is a global central nervous system problem underlying sensory processing in fibromyalgia patients.

A new study has uncovered a biological link between pain and fatigue that may help to explain why more women than men suffer from conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Researchers at the University of Iowa found that in mice a protein involved in muscle pain works in conjunction with the sex hormone testosterone to protect against muscle fatigue.

Pain and fatigue frequently occur together in various diseases. For example, 94% of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients suffer from muscle pain along with the primary symptom of fatigue. Equally, fatigue is common amongst people suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. Up to 75% of these people report suffering from fatigue.

New research shows that fibromyalgia patients could benefit significantly from regular exercise in a heated swimming pool.

Fibromyalgia is poorly understood and patients are often provided with very few effective treatment options to help them manage the pain and other symptoms. Pain medications are often prescribed, but for reasons not fully understood, do not seem to be particularly effective in those with the condition.

This new research may offer effective symptom relief that is free from side-effects and is relatively inexpensive.

Lyrica, the first drug approved by the US Food & Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia, has been hitting the headlines over the past few weeks. We talked to Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum of The Annapolis Center for Effective CFS/Fibromyalgia Therapies about the drug.

In June 2007, Lyrica, which is manufactured by Pfizer, became the first drug to be approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia by the FDA which regulates the pharmaceutical industry in the United States.

Doctors who treat fibromyalgia patients have been using various drugs "off-label" over the years to treat the pain and other symptoms of the condition, but Lyrica is the first to be officially endorsed as safe and effective by the FDA.