A reason for the perplexing nature of FM syndrome has been found. It’s an ophthalmic disorder afflicting the ability of the sufferer’s specialist to discern the blindingly bloody obvious. This monochrome blindness results in denial of discernable difference between pathology results for patients and healthy controls. It’s 20 years since Wolfgang Muller determined such a difference in serotonin levels between fibromyalgics (‘GTM’ on the right) and healthy controls, with less than 1 in 10,000 possibility that it arose due to chance.

Jascko, Hepp and Sprott et al decided that “Serum serotonin levels are not useful in diagnosing fibromyalgia”, although their immunoassay showed a range of 10-115ng/ml in patients – compared to 131-322ng/ml measured in the control group. Why there’s as many fibromites prescribed serotonin boosters as are treated with anti-convulsants*, without pathology evidence confounds me. Eduardo Ortega has led many discoveries of markers such as the inflammatory Interleukin-8. Hollenberg and Blanco et al found ten times the number of mast cells in FM skin, releasing inflammatory histamines when triggered. Cordero, deMiguel and Sánchez Alcázar et al studies also show no overlap in the FM or healthy ranges of the cell fuel ‘ATP’, oxidative stressor MDA, or its peroxidation counterpart catalase between their samples of three dozen women. Although a bonus that they publish in the open-access Public Library of Science, it’s disappointing that peer-reviewed journals showing interest are the likes of the obscure ‘Mitochondrion’. Contrast this with the publicity afforded sponsorship by Eli-Lilly of Dr Frank Rice’s findings of peripheral blood vessel pathology – announced in the American Academy of Pain Medicine and lauded widely in mainstream press articles for months as a breakthrough, along with commentary which “….explains why some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Cymbalta seem to help.”

Although no one test has specificity to exclude Rheumatoid Arthritis or depression, in totality there is overwhelming evidence for an exact diagnostic determination by the lab. Assuming impartiality, of course. When Dr Bruce Gillis declared “..no competing interests” in ‘Unique Immunological Patterns in Fibromyalgia’, he clearly wasn’t speaking as CEO of his company which markets the fmtest ®. Medical evidence basis demands a decision which disproves any element of chance or individual perspective. The humanities are somewhat more subjective, and in being so are also sensitive to the person. Hamlet avoids an argument by not passing judgement on a seemingly black and white issue by proclaiming “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so… “.

*Endep & Cymbalta vs Lyrica & Neurontin