This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. There are many individuals who experience one or more forms of chronic pain in their everyday life. In particular, there are many illnesses that fall under an umbrella called 'Chronic multi-symptom illness' (CMI). Such illnesses include, but are not limited to, fibromyalgia (FMS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (GWVI). There are several investigators at the University of Michigan who do research with individuals who have one or more of these illnesses. This research study has been designed to develop a pool of individuals who are interested in participating in one or more of these studies. Many of these studies require that individuals be screened before they enter a research study. Screening visits generally contain one or more of the following items: a) history and physical exam, b) blood sampling, and c) completion of questionnaires. This project is aimed at creating a pool of persons who can be easily identified to participate in our research studies. Also, doing the screening procedures at this time may decrease the likelihood that they will need to be repeated at the time of recruitment for other studies. Individuals who want to be contacted with opportunities to participate in future CMI research at the University of Michigan may be able to participate in this study. There is no limit to the number of interested volunteers who can participate in the screening pool. These subjects will fall into one of two groups; 1) individuals with chronic multi-symptom illness or 2) healthy control subjects. To be included in the CMI patient group, subjects must be 18 years of age or older, must meet the established criteria for one or more of the CMIs and must be willing to be contacted in the future to participate in the screening process for an ongoing clinical trial. To be included in the healthy control group, subjects must be 18 years of age or older, must not meet the established criteria for one or more of the CMIs and must be willing to be contacted in the future to participate in the screening process for an ongoing clinical trial. Individuals within each group should have no other significant, chronic health problems requiring medications. Some of the studies involving CMI require that individuals not have other clinical conditions such as morbid obesity, autoimmune diseases, heart or lung problems (e.g. angina, congestive heart failure, COPD, chronic asthma), uncontrolled endocrine or allergic disorders (e.g. thyroid disease, diabetes requiring insulin), or cancer within the last 2 years. These requirements will be discussed at the time of the screening visit. In addition, individuals will be excluded from the pool if they: 1) have a psychiatric disorder involving a history of psychosis, 2) are deemed a current suicide risk, 3) have attempted suicide within two years of the study, or 4) they have a history of substance abuse within 2 years of the study.
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