To measure inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphocreatine (PCr), ATP and phosphodiesters (PDE) in fibromyalgic muscle tissue by (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
A 1.5 Tesla scanner with a P 100 surface coil was used to examine 15 patients (mean age 49.9+/-14.3 yr) with fibromyalgia, according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, and 17 healthy controls (mean age 30.2+/-5.8 yr).
Compared with the controls, there were increases in the levels of PDE (+22%, P = 0.032) and Pi (+19%, P = 0.019) in the spectra of fibromyalgia patients, but there was no difference in pH.
The metabolic differences we found may have been related to weakness and fatigue in the fibromyalgia patients, but they do not fully explain the fibromyalgia symptoms.