this is very interesting and maybe even exciting.
--- Meir Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> Dec. 14, 2007
>
> Mariana Iglesias
> 507-284-5005 (days)
> 507-284-2511 (evenings)
> e-mail: <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> MRE Could Provide a Definitive Diagnosis for People
> with Muscle Pain, Mayo
> Clinic Study Shows
>
> ROCHESTER, Minn. -- An estimated nine million men
> and women in the United States
> live with myofascial pain syndrome, a condition
> marked by pain that permeates
> muscles in the neck, back and shoulders. The
> condition is difficult to diagnose
> and not entirely understood, but research studies
> indicate that a new imaging
> technology developed at Mayo Clinic holds promise
> for a definitive diagnosis
> and, perhaps eventually, new treatments for people
> who have the syndrome.
>
> A Mayo Clinic study published in the November issue
> of the Archives of Physical
> Medicine and Rehabilitation shows that magnetic
> resonance elastography, or MRE,
> can provide images of the affected muscle with
> clarity and insight not possible
> with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. While an
> MRI uses a magnetic field and
> radio waves to create clear and detailed
> cross-sectional images of the body's
> internal tissues and organs, an MRE measures the
> elasticity of tissue as it is
> gently vibrated.
>
> "Additional research is necessary, but our findings
> in this pilot study provide
> a strong basis to suspect that MRE technology can
> identify changes in muscle
> tone and stiffness that could previously only be
> identified by physical
> examination by a physician or a therapist," says
> Jeffrey Basford, M.D., Ph.D., a
> Mayo Clinic specialist in physical medicine and
> rehabilitation and an author of
> the study. "Prior to these findings, we did not have
> a good diagnostic test for
> myofascial pain syndrome."
>
> An MRE employs standard MRI equipment with a few
> modifications, and works by
> measuring the wavelength of vibrations sent through
> the tissues. A vibrating
> metal plate is placed on the patient causing muscles
> to contract and stiffen.
> When this occurs, researchers can measure the
> elasticity of muscles and detect
> abnormal hardening of tissues, which in myofasical
> pain syndrome can cause pain.
>
> The MRE technique is being applied to the diagnosis
> of other diseases, such as
> liver disease (
>
<http://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/de07-1-biotech-ehman/>
>
http://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/de07-1-biotech-ehman/)
> and could also be used to
> diagnose breast cancer and other tumors, which tend
> to be harder than the
> surrounding normal tissue.
>
> Myofascial pain syndrome is sometimes confused with
> fibromyalgia, but the two
> conditions are clinically different. Fibromyalgia is
> a chronic condition
> typically characterized by widespread pain in
> muscles, ligaments and tendons, as
> well as fatigue and multiple tender points.
> Myofascial pain syndrome, is a more
> localized pain that is associated with trigger point
> tenderness. A trigger point
> is a small lump in a band of tight muscle that, when
> pressed, triggers a
> reproducible pattern of referred pain.
>
> "In the past, myofasical pain syndrome has been very
> difficult to diagnose.
> These new findings may be the next step for a
> diagnosis and in the future may
> help to refine treatment options," Dr. Basford says.
>
> In some chronic cases of myofascial pain,
> combinations of physical therapy and
> trigger point injections are needed to relieve pain.
> In addition, the condition
> is sometimes treated with the "spray and stretch"
> technique, which involves
> spraying the muscle and trigger point with a coolant
> and then slowly stretching
> the muscle.
>
> The study was funded by the National Institutes of
> Health.
>
> Other Mayo Clinic collaborators include Kai-Nan An,
> Ph.D.; Sabine Bensamoun,
> Ph.D.; Qingshan Chen; and Jeffrey Thompson, M.D.
>
> Mayo Clinic, through a dedicated focus on individual
> patient needs, provides
> diagnostic and treatment services in every
> sub-specialty at its locations in
> Rochester, Minnesota; Jacksonville, Florida and
> Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona.
>
> # # #
>
> To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic,
> go to
> <file://www.mayoclinic.org/news>
> www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com (
> <file://www.mayoclinic.com> www.mayoclinic.com) is
> available as a resource for
> your health stories.
>
>
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