Invitation to CNAP Round Table Meeting. VERSION 2.0

Dear CNAP member,
I am happy to present the programme for the upcoming Round Table Discussion – Version 2.0.
In this Round Table meeting you are invited to discuss the topic of “decreased small fiber density in patients with Fibromyalgia”. The objective is to present and discuss the selected sub-theme, based on your own scientific expertise and approach.

13.00 Welcome

13.10 Presentation and discussion: CNS physiology
Presentation of a current paper: a new state of the art study settling the topic
Group: Felipe Rettore Andreis, Carolina Ceruti, Eva Nedergaard Søholm

González-Villar, A. J., Triñanes, Y., Gómez-Perretta, C., Carrillo-de-la-Peña, M. T. (2020): Patients with fibromyalgia show increased beta connectivity across distant networks and microstates alterations in resting-state electroencephalogram. NeuroImage, 223, (2020) pp. 1-7.

13.50 Presentation and discussion: CNS physiology
Presentation of a current paper and a reflection on an innovative approach/study design.
Group: Brian Duborg Ebbesen, Daniela Montemayor Zolezzi, Maryam Mahmoodi Omandani, Laura Moniek Ronda De Herde

Vecchio, E., Giovanna Quitadamo, S., Ricci, K., Libro, G., Delussi, M., Lombardi, R., Lauria, G., de Tommaso, M. (2022): Laser evoked potentials in fibromyalgia with peripheral small fiber involvement. Clinical Neuroplysiology 135, (2022) pp. 96-106.

14.30 A discussion on the Version 2.0 format – what’s working and what’s not.

14.45 Social gathering

15.30 Thank you for today!

Round Table Topic: Fibromyalgia and small fiber pathology
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome where patients experience widespread pain and several other problems such as sleep, mood, and cognition dysfunction. Fibromyalgia has long been considered to have a non-nociceptive and non-neuropathic basis, frequently named dysfunctional or (more recently) nociplastic pain mechanism. This is in line with classic studies showing that the musculoskeletal system, and both the central and peripheral nervous systems, would be structurally normal in these patients. About 15 years ago this view was challenged by a group of researchers showing that a significant proportion of patients with FM have a decreased innervation on the lower limbs when compared to healthy people and to depressed patients. This has sparked a discussion on whether a small fiber neuropathy could be present in FM or might be a driver of neuroplastic changes leading to pain in these patients. Several studies have shown that these peripheral abnormalities are not correlated with clinical findings, and therefore should be called small fiber pathology and not small fiber neuropathy. Others have reported similar changes in a wide range of diseases ranging from stroke to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, suggesting that these findings are not specific for FM.

Round Table version 2.0:
At the Round Table Meeting, participants are invited to present a scientific approach to this dilemma. Of specific interest is to learn more about your research expertise, methods, and approach, and how they could be used to address relevant dilemmas in the pain neuroscience field. We would like to get an understanding of your take on the topic, either through a presentation of methodology, a study design approach, a lab set up … – it is up to you. If relevant, we would like you to include a lab tour in the discussion, where the group presents us with a methodological approach that might help us better address scientific challenges. Each presentation should include time for discussion.

We ask you to sign up for one of the following sub-themes, based on your scientific interest and expertise. At the Round Table meeting the groups are asked to present the sub-theme, using their own scientific expertise to discuss the topic.

Depending on your scientific expertise, please sign up for one of the sub-themes:
1. Genetics: Ex. epigenetics, polymorphism assessment, twin studies.
2. CNS physiology: E.g., EEG, SEPs, Motor corticospinal excitability, TMS-EEG connectivity assessments, spectroscopy
3. Peripheral/psychophysics approaches: Peripheral nerve excitability, EMG, nerve conduction tests, static and dynamic QST.
It is up to you how you present the sub-theme. Remember to include time for questions and discussion.