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Fibromyalgia and Bipolar Disorders 
(started 3/2013) 

Summary: This page, for right now, is just a placeholder for me to keep track of two articles on this subject. Perhaps this is just the beginning of a larger story. Both of these papers are from the same research group in Italy, though; so wait until other groups report similar findings to get too excited about this (and besides, this reported connection does not suggest some great new treatment to try; it might open a few doors, but most medication options have significant risks and side effects).

From the review by Alciati and colleagues

1. Probably related to the high prevalence of

bipolar spectrum disorder, a prospective

study of a cohort of 1269 female patients

with FM found that the risk of suicide was

ten times higher than in the general population

2.  The high rate of hypomanic

symptoms has an important clinical impact

given the increasing off-label use of antidepressants

to control pain (regardless of the

presence of depression) in non-psychiatric

settings.

3. The correct detection of the manic/

hypomanic component of mood dysregulation

that leads to a diagnosis in the realm

of bipolar disorders is crucial, because the

treatment of bipolar disorder is different

from that of recurrent major depression.

 

From the study of bipolar diagnosis in patients with FM