Re: Relationshipsrhinitis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue

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Good call, Deborah! Amazing what we used to know. Good to see
those Georgetown physicians and authors of the new paper
recognizing that the body is made up of connected organs, brought
that term out.

Title:
Visceral Nociception: Peripheral and Central Aspects of Visceral
Nociceptive Systems
Authors:
Cervero, F.
Publication:
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
Series B, Biological Sciences, Volume 308, Issue 1136, pp. 325-
337
Publication Date:
02/1985
Origin:
JSTOR
Bibliographic Code:
1985RSPTB.308..325C

Abstract
Discomfort and pain are the sensations most commonly evoked from
viscera. Most nociceptive signals that originate from visceral
organs reach the central nervous system (c.n.s.) via afferent
fibres in sympathetic nerves, whereas parasympathetic nerves
contain mainly those visceral afferent fibres concerned with the
non-sensory aspects of visceral afferent function. Noxious
stimulation of viscera activates a variety of specific and non-
specific receptors, the vast majority of which are connected to
unmyelinated afferent fibres. Studies on the mechanisms of
visceral sensation can thus provide information on the more
general functions of unmyelinated afferent fibres. Specific
visceral nociceptors have been found in the heart, lungs, testes
and biliary system, whereas noxious stimulation of the gastro-
intestinal tract appears to be detected mainly by non-specific
visceral receptors that use an intensity-encoding mechanism.
Visceral nociceptive messages are conveyed to the spinal cord by
relatively few visceral afferent fibres which activate many
central neurons by extensive functional divergence through
polysynaptic pathways. Impulses in visceral afferent fibres
excite spinal cord neurons also driven by somatic inputs from the
corresponding dermatome (viscero-somatic neurons). Noxious
intensities of visceral stimulation are needed to activate
viscero-somatic neurons, most of which can also be excited by
noxious stimulation of their somatic receptive fields. The
visceral input to some viscero-somatic neurons in the spinal cord
can be mediated via long supraspinal loops. Pathways of
projection of viscero-somatic neurons include the spino-reticular
and spino-thalamic tracts. All these findings give experimental
support to the `convergence-projection' theory of referred
visceral pain. Visceral pain is the consequence of the diffuse
activation of somato-sensory nociceptive systems in a manner that
prevents accurate spatial discrimination or localization of the
stimuli. Noxious stimulation of visceral receptors triggers
general reactions of alertness and arousal and evokes unpleasant
and poorly localized sensory experiences. This type of response
may be a feature of sensory systems dominated by unmyelinated
afferent inputs.

On 6/23/10, Deborah wrote:
> Okay, have to have my handy dandy medical and research science
> terminology dictionary handy for this one "visceral
nociception";
> http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985RSPTB.308..325C
>
> Visceral Nociception: Peripheral and Central Aspects of Visceral
> Nociceptive Systems
> Cervero, F.
> Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.
> Series B, Biological Sciences, Volume 308, Issue 1136, pp. 325-
337
>
> Discomfort and pain are the sensations most commonly evoked
> from viscera. Most nociceptive signals that originate from
> visceral organs reach the central nervous system (c.n.s.) via
> afferent fibres in sympathetic nerves, whereas parasympathetic
> nerves contain mainly those visceral afferent fibres concerned
> with the non-sensory aspects of visceral afferent function.
> Noxious stimulation of viscera activates a variety of specific
> and non-specific receptors, the vast majority of which are
> connected to unmyelinated afferent fibres. Studies on the
> mechanisms of visceral sensation can thus provide information on
> the more general functions of unmyelinated afferent fibres.
> Specific visceral nociceptors have been found in the heart,
> lungs, testes and biliary system, whereas noxious stimulation of
> the gastro-intestinal tract appears to be detected mainly by
> non-specific visceral receptors that use an intensity-encoding
> mechanism. Visceral nociceptive messages are conveyed to the
> spinal cord by relatively few visceral afferent fibres which
> activate many central neurons by extensive functional divergence
> through polysynaptic pathways. Impulses in visceral afferent
> fibres excite spinal cord neurons also driven by somatic inputs
> from the corresponding dermatome (viscero-somatic neurons).
> Noxious intensities of visceral stimulation are needed to
> activate viscero-somatic neurons, most of which can also be
> excited by noxious stimulation of their somatic receptive
> fields. The visceral input to some viscero-somatic neurons in
> the spinal cord can be mediated via long supraspinal loops.
> Pathways of projection of viscero-somatic neurons include the
> spino-reticular and spino-thalamic tracts. All these findings
> give experimental support to the `convergence-projection' theory
> of referred visceral pain. Visceral pain is the consequence of
> the diffuse activation of somato-sensory nociceptive systems in
> a manner that prevents accurate spatial discrimination or
> localization of the stimuli. Noxious stimulation of visceral
> receptors triggers general reactions of alertness and arousal
> and evokes unpleasant and poorly localized sensory experiences.
> This type of response may be a feature of sensory systems
> dominated by unmyelinated afferent inputs.
>
> ****************************
>
> And, from what little I've read so far, there can be permanent
> damage to these nociceptors from either chronic or acute
> exposures to noxious stimulants.
>
>
> On 6/23/10, Deborah wrote:
>> Good one. Thanks, Sharon.
>>
>> On 6/21/10, Sharon wrote:
>>> Relationships among rhinitis, fibromyalgia, and chronic
>>> fatigue
>>>
>>> http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ocean/aap/2010/0000003
>>> 1/00000003/art00002
>>>
>>> Authors: Baraniuk, James N.; Zheng, Yin
>>>
>>> Source: Allergy and Asthma Proceedings, Volume 31, Number
>>> 3, May/June 2010 , pp. 169-178(10)
>>>
>>> Publisher: OceanSide Publications, Inc
>>>
>>>
>>> Allergy and Asthma Proceedings is a peer reviewed
>>> publication dedicated to distributing timely scientific
>>> research regarding advancements in the knowledge and
>>> practice of allergy, asthma and immunology. Its primary
>>> readership consists of allergists and pulmonologists.
>>>
>>> The goal of the Proceedings is to publish articles with a
>>> predominantly clinical focus which directly impact quality
>>> of care for patients with allergic disease and asthma.
>>>
>>> Featured topics include asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, food
>>> allergies, allergic skin diseases, diagnostic techniques,
>>> allergens, and treatment modalities. Published material
>>> includes peer-reviewed original research, clinical trials
>>> and review articles.
>>> Abstract:
>>>
>>> New information about the pathophysiology of idiopathic
>>> nonallergic rhinopathy indicates a high prevalence in
>>> chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This article shows the
>>> relevance of CFS and allied disorders to allergy practice.
>>> CFS has significant overlap with systemic hyperalgesia
>>> (fibromyalgia), autonomic dysfunction (irritable bowel
>>> syndrome and migraine headaches), sensory hypersensitivity
>>> (dyspnea; congestion; rhinorrhea; and appreciation of
>>> visceral nociception in the esophagus, gastrointestinal
>>> tract, bladder, and other organs), and central nervous
>>> system maladaptations (central sensitization) recorded by
>>> functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Neurological
>>> dysfunction may account for the overlap of CFS with
>>> idiopathic nonallergic rhinopathy. Scientific advances are
>>> in fMRI, nociceptive sensor expression, and, potentially,
>>> infection with xenotropic murine leukemia-related virus
>>> provide additional insights to novel pathophysiological
>>> mechanisms of the “functional” complaints of these patients
>>> that are mistakenly interpreted as allergic syndromes. As
>>> allergists, we must accept the clinical challenges posed by
>>> these complex patients and provide proper diagnoses,
>>> assurance, and optimum care even though current treatment
>>> algorithms are lacking.
>>> Keywords: Central sensitization; CFS; chronic fatigue
>>> syndrome; dysautonomia; fatigue; fibromyalgia; idiopathic
>>> nonallergic rhinitis; pain; xenotropic murine leukemia-
>>> related virus; XMRV
>>>
>>> Document Type: Research article
>>>
>>> DOI: 10.2500/aap.2010.31.3311