This book is a compilation of chapters, of which two chapters review the treatment strategies for fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), and one chapter describes the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and related pathology in the FMS pathogenesis and reviews the appropriate treatment moieties. This book chapter reviews the phenotypic changes that alter the diagnostic criteria and disease activity measures when FMS is comorbid in three potentially painful selected rheumatic diseases. The introductory preface takes the form of an editorial in which I challenge the concept that inflammation, measured as cytokine activity, plays a prominent role in the FMS pathogenesis. All of these chapters and the Preface are authoritative and accomplished discussions that provide novel perspectives on rarely addressed FMS topics.

Recent breakthroughs in science and technology have led to a concomitant growth in exploratory studies into the definitive properties of traditional therapies employed in medicine and pharmacology. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) involves a diverse range of medicinal and health practices and products that are typically not part of conventional medicine. Presently, there are a multitude of research studies investigating the promise and potential of CAM products in disease therapy. A record of concentric investigations into the therapeutic properties of products may assure researchers and the public of safety, efficacy, and beneficent implications. While big pharma and the biotech industry race to produce vaccines and effective and efficient drugs, especially in the times of a pandemic, it is an excellent opportunity to discuss complementary and alternative medicinal products. Research investigations continue to exhibit the enormous possibilities of CAM and the financial benefits thereof. Exploring Complementary and Alternative Medicinal Products in Disease Therapy is an innovative reference book that presents a holistic overview and makes an intelligent argument for an aggressive, sustained research into the capabilities of CAM in disease therapy applications. The chapters are a compendium of recent results of CAM in areas such as topical pre-clinical and clinical trial studies undertaking this effort. They demonstrate one or more instances where a continuum of research findings on certain CAM products are indicative of the potential CAM has in the treatment of a plethora of diseases and comorbidities. This book is a valuable reference tool for pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, professionals and practitioners, epidemiologists, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the safety, efficiency, beneficence, and cost implications of employing CAM in patient care.

Pain is a health issue that warrants significant attention and has an immense impact on global healthcare systems. This book focuses on pain, particularly on its management, by providing fresh perspectives and novel insights, while at the same time examining related topics that have often been overlooked. Given that there is no permanent cure for pain, the book primarily serves as an update to the existing knowledge. Topics covered include the biochemical pathways of pain as well as pharmaceutical and clinical management of pain to ensure health and wellbeing.

Methods in Toxicology, Volume 2: Mitochondrial Dysfunction provides a source of methods, techniques, and experimental approaches for studying the role of abnormal mitochondrial function in cell injury. The book discusses the methods for the preparation and basic functional assessment of mitochondria from liver, kidney, muscle, and brain; the methods for assessing mitochondrial dysfunction in vivo and in intact organs; and the structural aspects of mitochondrial dysfunction are addressed. The text also describes chemical detoxification and metabolism as well as specific metabolic reactions that are especially important targets or indicators of damage. The methods for measurement of alterations in fatty acid and phospholipid metabolism and for the analysis and manipulation of oxidative injury and antioxidant systems are also considered. The book further tackles additional methods on mitochondrial energetics and transport processes; approaches for assessing impaired function of mitochondria; and genetic and developmental aspects of mitochondrial disease and toxicology. The text also looks into mitochondrial DNA synthesis, covalent binding to mitochondrial DNA, DNA repair, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the context of developing individuals and cellular differentiation. Microbiologists, toxicologists, biochemists, and molecular pharmacologists will find the book invaluable.

This practical text provides a clinical overview of the etiology, diagnosis and treatment for fibromyalgia. Current evidence-based treatments and guidelines are emphasized along with lifestyle modification suggestions for the patient. Also included is a review of current literature, research and emerging developments on this prevalent pain syndrome. A range of healthcare specialties, including pain management, rheumatology, neurology, internal medicine and family practice, will find this comprehensive guide to be a valuable resource to their routine treatment of fibromyalgia and improve patient's quality of life.

In this completely updated edition, Gayle Backstrom, who has FM, and Dr. Bernard Rubin explain and demystify this chronic muscle pain syndrome. Taking into account the latest research findings on fibromyalgia, Backstrom and Rubin seek to educate and assist the layperson in recognizing and treating this condition.

This compelling account of the author's experience with a chronic pain disorder and subsequent interaction with the American health care system goes to the heart of the workings of power and culture in the biomedical domain. It is a medical whodunit full of mysterious misdiagnosis, subtle power plays, and shrewd detective work. Setting a new standard for the practice of autoethnography, Susan Greenhalgh presents a case study of her intense encounter with an enthusiastic young specialist who, through creative interpretation of the diagnostic criteria for a newly emerging chronic disease, became convinced she had a painful, essentially untreatable, lifelong muscle condition called fibromyalgia. Greenhalgh traces the ruinous effects of this diagnosis on her inner world, bodily health, and overall well-being. Under the Medical Gaze serves as a powerful illustration of medicine's power to create and inflict suffering, to define disease and the self, and to manage relationships and lives. Greenhalgh ultimately learns that she had been misdiagnosed and begins the long process of undoing the physical and emotional damage brought about by her nearly catastrophic treatment. In considering how things could go so awry, she embarks on a cogent and powerful analysis of the sociopolitical sources of pain through feminist, cultural, and political understandings of the nature of medical discourse and practice in the United States. She develops fresh arguments about the power of medicine to medicalize our selves and lives, the seductions of medical science, and the deep, psychologically rooted difficulties women patients face in interactions with male physicians. In the end, Under the Medical Gaze goes beyond the critique of biomedicine to probe the social roots of chronic pain and therapeutic alternatives that rely on neither the body-cure of conventional medicine nor the mind-cure of some alternative medicines, but rather a broader set of strategies that address the sociopolitical sources of pain.

Edited by internationally recognized pain experts, this book offers 73 clinically relevant cases, accompanied by discussion in a question-and-answer format.

Embodied inquiry is the process of using embodied approaches in order to study, explore or investigate a topic. But what does it actually mean to be 'embodied'? This book explores why and how we use our bodies in order to research, what an embodied approach brings to a research project, and the kinds of considerations that need to be taken into account to research in this way. We all have bodies, feelings, emotions and experiences that affect the questions we are interested in, the ways in which we choose to approach finding out the answers to those questions, and the patterns we see in the data we gather as a result. Embodied Inquiry foregrounds these questions of positionality and reflexivity in research. It considers how a project or study may be designed to take these into account and why multimodal and creative approaches to research may be used to capture embodied experiences. The book offers insights into how to analyse the types of data emerging from embodied inquiries, and the ethical considerations that are important to consider. Accounting for the interdisciplinary nature of the field, this book has been written to be a concise primer into Embodied Inquiry for research students, scholars and practitioners alike.

This book reveals the true cause of arthritis and fibromyalgia. Up till now these conditions have been considered incurable. The reason for this is that doctors have not recognized the cause, and without knowing the cause it is virtually impossible to develop a cure. Recent medical research, however, has established a clear cause and effect connection. The underlying cause for all the major forms of arthritis and for fibromyalgia is now known. Drugs aren’t the answer. However, there are natural health-promoting therapies that do work and can stop the progression of the disease and encourage regeneration and recovery. In this book you will read about new groundbreaking medical research, fascinating case studies, and inspiring personal success stories. You will learn about a totally unique approach to overcoming arthritis and fibromyalgia called the Arthritis Battle Plan. More importantly, you will learn what steps you must take in order to stop the disease process and regain your health.