Fibromyalgia and the concept of resilience.

Fibromyalgia and the concept of resilience. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2019 Jan-Feb;37 Suppl 116(1):105-113 Authors: Casale R, Sarzi-Puttini P, Botto R, Alciati A, Batticciotto A, Marotto D, Torta R Abstract The concept of resilience varies according to the context in which it is used. Resilience is broadly defined as a protective factor that makes people less vulnerable to future adverse life events, in this implying the previous occurrence of an adverse event that has to be confronted before individual equilibrium can be restored. This definition can be applied to fibromyalgia and other chronic pain situations. Resilience is profoundly related to reaction to acute or chronic stress, and is therefore involved in the stress response system. Corticotropin-releasing factor can be considered a fundamental biological element of resilience, which also involves neural mechanisms such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the locus coeruleus/norepinephrine system, the mesolimbic reward circuit and the fear circuit. Resilience also has a genetic basis: certain genetic characteristics, affect the degree of vulnerability to chronic stress. The number of psychiatric symptoms in healthy adults with high resilience scores do not change when they are exposed to stressing life events, whereas less resilient people develop additional symptoms. This is a typical clinical feature of fibromyalgia. Although resilience could be a therapeutic target ...
Source: Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology - Category: Rheumatology Tags: Clin Exp Rheumatol Source Type: research