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Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Sept. 28, 2001 (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Fibromyalgia patients have experienced pain relief by eliminating certain items from their diet, according to a new study. Patients eliminated excitotoxins, such as MSG and aspartame, from their diets and found beneficial effects.

Study researcher Siegfried Schmidt, M.D., from the West Oaks Facility of the University of Florida says, "This does not work for all patients, but it seems to work for some patients." Dr. Schmidt says the elimination of MSG and other excitotoxins seems to relieve symptoms in patients who suffer from the combination of fibromyalgia and allergies. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by fatigue and widespread pain in the fibrous tissues in a person's muscles, ligaments and tendons.

In the study, researchers studied four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia. All patients had undergone other treatments with limited success. They were instructed to eliminate MSG and/or aspartame from their diet. Researchers found all four patients had complete, or nearly complete, resolution of their symptoms within months of eliminating these items from their diet. "The patients also experienced recurrence of their symptoms whenever MSG was ingested again," says Dr. Schmidt.

Researchers report they cannot be sure MSG caused the patients fibromyalgia. However, they say elimination of MSG and/or aspartame did result in striking improvements in patients' symptoms. Dr. Schmidt says it is unclear how many patients with fibromyalgia this could help, but he hopes more doctors will include this as a treatment option for fibromyalgia patients.

Source: The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 2001 35:702-706

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