Funding Allocated for Fibromyalgia Research

The Omnibus Appropriations Acts, 2009 (H.R. 1105) has been approved by congress and the president. The appropriations bill, which became public law on March 11, 2009, includes language specific to the funding of scientific research for fibromyalgia.

 
The National Fibromyalgia Association, working on behalf of the 10 million people in the U.S. affected by fibromyalgia, played a major role in the fibromyalgia-specific portion of this bill. The NFA hired and worked with lobbyist Libby Mullin, president of Mullin Strategies, on developing and submitting the fibromyalgia language included in the bill. NFA Founder and President Lynne Matallana and Executive Director Rae Marie Gleason together with Dr. Dan Clauw, Dr. Patrick Wood and Mullin also met with Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Committee, and several other legislators to encourage their support of the FM appropriations language. Additional meetings will be taking place to ensure the directives are implemented.

Below are the directives to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), both of which are a part of the National Institutes of Health.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Fibromyalgia- The Committee is concerned by the lack of a sustained commitment to fibromyalgia-specific research at the NIAMS, and it strongly urges additional resources for this purpose. In particular, the Committee urges the Institute, in collaboration with the NINDS, to convene an international symposium to elucidate the state of the science with regard to fibromyalgia and to publish a consensus document within 1 year establishing a roadmap for future fibromyalgia research. In addition, it urges the NIAMS to establish a funded center with dedicated staffing to serve as a nexus for research on fibromyalgia and related disorders that will explore the broad spectrum of neurotransmitter abnormalities and other potential problems, including sleep disturbances, abnormal cervical anatomy and genetic factors, that might contribute to symptom development and expression. The Committee also encourages the Institute to support basic research into animal models of the disorder. Finally, the Committee urges the NIAMS to collaborate with the NIDDK in support of its Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain [MAPP] initiative.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Fibromyalgia- Whereas fibromyalgia has traditionally been considered a musculoskeletal disorder, the Committee notes that substantial evidence implicates pathology within the central nervous system in the development and expression of fibromyalgia symptoms, including abnormal brain activity, abnormal concentrations of a variety of neurochemicals in cerebrospinal fluid, dysautonomia and neuroendocrine dysfunction. The Committee, therefore, urges the NINDS to collaborate with the NIAMS in convening an international symposium to elucidate the state of the science with regard to fibromyalgia, and publish a consensus document within 1 year establishing a roadmap for future fibromyalgia research. The Committee also encourages the NINDS to support basic research into animal models of the disorder.

Click here for more information on the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009.