PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J E Naschitz
AU  - M Rozenbaum
AU  - I Rosner
AU  - E Sabo
AU  - R M Priselac
AU  - N Shaviv
AU  - A Ahdoot
AU  - M Ahdoot
AU  - L Gaitini
AU  - S Eldar
AU  - D Yeshurun
TI  - Cardiovascular response to upright tilt in fibromyalgia differs from that in chronic fatigue syndrome.
DP  - 2001 Jun 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1356--1360
VI  - 28
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/28/6/1356.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/28/6/1356.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2001 Jun 01; 28
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To compare the cardiovascular response during postural challenge of patients with fibromyalgia (FM) to those with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: Age and sex matched patients were studied, 38 with FM, 30 with CFS, and 37 healthy subjects. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded during 10 min of recumbence and 30 min of head-up tilt. Differences between successive BP values and the last recumbent BP, their average, and standard deviation (SD) were calculated. Time curves of BP differences were analyzed by computer and their outline ratios (OR) and fractal dimensions (FD) were measured. HR differences were determined similarly. Based on the latter measurements, each subject's discriminant score (DS) was computed. RESULTS: For patients and controls average DS values were: FM: -3.68 (SD 2.7), CFS: 3.72 (SD 5.02), and healthy controls: -4.62 (SD 2.24). DS values differed significantly between FM and CFS (p < 0.0001). Subgroups of FM patients with and without fatigue had comparable DS values. CONCLUSION: The DS confers numerical expression to the cardiovascular response during postural challenge. DS values in FM were significantly different from DS in CFS, suggesting that homeostatic responses in FM and CFS are dissimilar. This observation challenges the hypothesis that FM and CFS share a common derangement of the stress-response system.