This study reports psychological symptoms assessed in 327 patients with fibromyalgia (FS) in a multicenter investigation. Two self-report scales, in their validated Italian translations, were used for screening: the CES-D (the Center of Epidemiologic Studies-Depression) developed at the NIMH for measuring depression and the Illness Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) developed by Pilowsky and Spence. The cutoff point of 23 in the CES-D scores revealed about 49% of the fibromyalgic patients as depressed. In analyzing patterns of illness behavior patients with FS showed a high score on IBQ scales of disease conviction, psychological versus somatic focusing and denial. CES-D scores showed significant correlations with illness behavior scales. These results and their implications for the treatment of fibromyalgic patients are discussed.

SUMMARY Fluorescence polarisation of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene was used to study the lymphocyte membrane in rheumatoid arthritis. The increase of polarisation value in the patients (n=27) compared with healthy controls (n=32) suggests a decrease of membrane fluidity. Moreover, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and plasma fibrinogen concentrations were positively correlated with lymphocyte fluorescence polarisation values (r=066 and r=0-76 respectively). The results suggest that the changes in lymphocyte membrane fluidity could be involved in the pathogenetic mechanism of rheumatoid arthritis.

We have demonstrated significant differences in 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence polarization values between lymphocyte membranes of untreated rheumatoid arthritis patients and lymphocyte membranes of patients treated with antirheumatic drugs, such as hydroxychloroquine and auranofin. No difference has been detected in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with auranofin associated with 6-methylprednisolone. The results indicate that some drugs used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis induce changes of lymphocyte membrane fluidity. The positive correlations between fluorescence polarization values and objective indices of the disease activity, as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen level, and α₂-globulin, suggested that fluorescence polarization could be used in the study of the pharmacological action of antirheumatic drugs and in monitoring antirheumatic therapy.

Using the fluorescence polarization of 1.6-diphenyl-1, 3, 5-hexatriene, the membrane fluidity of lymphocytes obtained from rheumatoid arthritis patients was measured during 12 months of auranofin treatment. Significant differences in fluorescence polarization values were observed following auranofin treatment. The correlations shown between fluorescence polarization values and the indices of rheumatoid arthritis activity, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alpha 2-globulins, plasma fibrinogen levels and platelet count suggest that changes in lymphocyte membrane fluidity could be used to monitor the effects of auranofin therapy.