Fibromyalgia Awareness Week – UK Sept 8-15Â
This week is Fibromyalgia Awareness Week and as support groups up and down the country gather to gain more recognition of the condition it has been revealed that Dr Kim Lawson, a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the university, has put forward a submission to NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), in collaboration with the Fibromyalgia Association UK, for the development of diagnostic and treatment guidelines.
Currently there is no cure for fibromyalgia, which is thought to affect up to four per cent of the population, and treating patients leads to high costs not only for the NHS but also for sufferers who are forced to go private for some treatments.
Businesses also lose billions in lost working hours because of the debilitating nature of the condition.
People with fibromyalgia typically have a range of symptoms which can change and vary from day to day and can include pain and stiffness, fatigue, specific tender points, disturbed sleep, poor concentration and irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms are so varied that sufferers can often find themselves being sent to different hospital departments to be treated for individual complaints, before a diagnosis of fibromyalgia is made.
Dr Lawson said, “What we are trying to do is get NICE to initiate a process for the development of some guidelines.
“On average in the UK it can take eight years to get a diagnosis and the level of awareness in this country is extremely low.
“There is no cure for fibromyalgia and present treatment is giving very limited and thereby inadequate control of the condition. This leads to high costs for the NHS and for sufferers who pay for private treatment.”
Dr Lawson will be presenting MPs with his submission at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fibromyalgia at Westminster in November.
Latest research figures reveal that two to four per cent of the population could have fibromyalgia and the condition is more common in women.
As part of National Awareness Week local support groups across the country are being encouraged to dress in yellow and black, the colours which symbolise the condition. The event is also highlighting other ongoing awareness campaigns, such as a fly-on-the-wall documentary, as part of the polkadotgals project, which Dr Lawson has been involved in.
Dr Kim Lawson has been involved in research into the development of drugs for the treatment of fibromyalgia and regularly contributes to scientific and medical journals, gives talks to the public and healthcare professionals and offers expert opinion to awareness campaigns.
In June 2007 pregabalin was the first drug to receive official approval for the treatment of fibromyalgia and a second drug, duloxetine has recently been submitted for approval. The approval of pregabalin is presently only valid for the USA. These important advances will provide recognised medications for this condition which up to now has lacked the availability of universally accepted treatment guidelines.
The polkadotgals project is a national campaign to raise awareness and funds for fibromyalgia with initial activities including the preparation of a celebrity calendar and a fly-on-the wall documentary.
For more information about fibromyalgia visit http://www.fibromyalgia-associationuk.org/
Source: Sheffield Hallam University
