Presentation of:
“Filum Disease Behind Fibromyalgia: A Preliminary Study”
at ICBEB 2024 in Singapore

Published by ICSEB at 20 December, 2024

From November 12-15 2024, Dr. M. B. Royo-Salvador presented the poster “Filum Disease Behind Fibromyalgia: A Preliminary Study” at the 13^th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (ICBEB 2024) in Singapore.

For years, our neurosurgical team has observed that Filum Disease/Neuro-Cranio-vertebral Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome share many clinical features, and we have a large number of cases with both diagnoses present at the same time.

In this latest study, which included 25 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery to section the filum terminale using the Filum System^® technique, we focus on comparing the preoperative condition, one month postoperative, and one year postoperative of these patients.

The research results show that the prevalence of symptoms and signs is high in both syndromes, with similar proportions in both groups, especially in terms of: headaches, neck pain, instability, limb pain, insomnia, low back pain, visual disturbances, memory and attention issues, fatigue, altered temperature and tactile sensitivity, nausea and vomiting, sphincter problems, chest and back pain, tinnitus, paresthesias, nystagmus, and others.

The paper’s discussion suggests that this might be due to the pathological effect of traction from Filum Disease on the spinal cord, which would severely affect perfusion (Purtzer, 1985; Tani et al, 1987) and brain metabolism, substantially altering the neurophysiology of nociception (pain sensitivity), leading to the spinal sensitization phenomenon—similar to what occurs in Central Sensitivity Syndromes, including Fibromyalgia.

The study concludes that “Filum Disease and Fibromyalgia are likely closely related, sharing clinical and radiological symptoms and signs with high statistical significance, and both show significant clinical improvement after filum terminale sectioning” using the Filum System^®’s technique.

This publication further confirms the findings of Royo-Salvador and colleagues, suggesting that many cases of Fibromyalgia could possibly be diagnosed as Filum Disease. We recommend that patients who come to our Institute with a Fibromyalgia diagnosis get a MRI of the brain and spine to check for signs of abnormal spinal cord traction, as a possible visible change in neuroimaging in Fibromyalgia Syndrome.

You can find more information about fibromyalgia and its treatment here:
https://institutchiaribcn.com/en/fibromyalgia-fibromyalgia-syndrome/

And more about the event here: https://institutchiaribcn.com/en/13th-international-conference-biomedical-engineering-biotechnology-icbeb-2024/