Fibromyalgia Likely The Result Of Autoimmune Problem, Research.
Fibromyalgia – a poorly understood condition that causes extreme tiredness, fatigue, muscle weakness, emotional distress and widespread pain throughout the body. Most common fibromyalgia symptoms are widespread pain, the dominating view points relats fibromyalgia to the dysfunction in the nervous system. But recently new research is published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation suggests the fibromyalgia may actually be caused by antibodies that interact with the nervous system of the person, making at an autoimmune disease.
The King’s-led study, in collaboration with University of Liverpool and the Karolinska Institute, shows that lots of fibromyalgia symptoms are caused by antibodies which increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in US, fibromyalgia affects at least 2 percent of the adults and more than 80% of them are women (similar to many others autoimmune conditions). The prevalence rises to 10% to 30% among patients diagnosed with autoimmune rheumatological conditions. There is no cure so far, but few treatments around are exercise, OTC drugs, stress reduction, lifestyle changes and natural treatments.
Ever person fibromyalgia symptoms are different, that make it tough to diagnosis and treat. FibromyalgiaResources have conducted the survey on why fibromyalgia patients have random symptoms, you can also read the summarize findings here. Due to limited scientific and medical understanding of the causes of fibromyalgia in the first place, development of new methods and therapies are lagging behind, but with this new research finding, there are possibilities of seeing improvment now.
Research Summary: This research findings have shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body. The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that it originates in the brain.
The implications of this study are profound. Establishing that fibromyalgia is an autoimmune disorder will transform how we view the condition and should pave the way for more effective treatments for the millions of people affected. Our work has uncovered a whole new area of therapeutic options and should give real hope to fibromyalgia patients. Previous exploration of therapies has been hampered by our limited understanding of the illness. This should now change. Treatment for FMS is focussed on gentle aerobic exercises, as well as drug and psychological therapies designed to manage pain, although these have proven ineffective in most patients and have left behind an enormous unmet clinical need
– Dr David Andersson, study primary investigator, King’s College London
The researchers injected mice with antibodies from people living with fibromyalgia and observed that the mice quickly developed an increased sensitivity to cold and pressure, along with decrease in the motor control and movment grip strength. In contrast, mice that were injected with antibodies from healthy people were unaffected, showing that patient antibodies cause, or at least are a major contributor to the fibromyalgia disease.
Furthermore, the mice injected with fibromyalgia antibodies recovered after a few weeks, when antibodies had been cleared from their system. This finding strongly suggests that therapies which reduce antibody levels in patients are likely to be effective treatments. Such therapies are already available and are used to treat other disorders that are caused by autoantibodies.
In their published research paper they claim that IgG from Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) patients produced sensory hypersensitivity by sensitizing nociceptive neurons. Mice treated with IgG from FMS patients displayed increased sensitivity to noxious mechanical and cold stimulation, and nociceptive fibers in skin-nerve preparations from mice treated with FMS IgG displayed an increased responsiveness to cold and mechanical stimulation. These mice also displayed reduced locomotor activity, reduced paw grip strength, and a loss of intraepidermal innervation.
Want to be a part of fibromyalgia research study and get paid, read this resource Fibromyalgia: Non-pharmacological and Novel therapies
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Journal Reference:
- Andreas Goebel, Emerson Krock, Clive Gentry, Mathilde R. Israel, Alexandra Jurczak, Carlos Morado Urbina, Katalin Sandor, Nisha Vastani, Margot Maurer, Ulku Cuhadar, Serena Sensi, Yuki Nomura, Joana Menezes, Azar Baharpoor, Louisa Brieskorn, Angelica Sandström, Jeanette Tour, Diana Kadetoff, Lisbet Haglund, Eva Kosek, Stuart Bevan, Camilla I. Svensson, David A. Andersson. Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2021; 131 (13) DOI: 10.1172/JCI144201
References:
- King’s College London. “Fibromyalgia likely the result of autoimmune problems.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 July 2021.
- New study shows Fibromyalgia likely the result of autoimmune problems by David Andersson via King’s College London
