Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Mysterious Pain Disorder May Not Be Only In The Brain - Expert Reaction
A study in mice shows that fibromyalgia – a poorly understood condition that causes ongoing pain and fatigue in an estimated 1 in 40 people worldwide – could be caused by the immune system turning up the dial on pain-sensing nerves.
Healthy mice injected with the antibodies of fibromyalgia patients displayed symptoms of the disorder, which cleared up once the antibodies were removed. The study author says it could also offer an explanation for long COVID.
The SMC asked experts to comment on the study. Feel free to use these comments in your reporting or follow up with the contact details provided.
Dr Bronwyn Lennox Thompson, Senior Lecturer, Academic Coordinator Postgraduate Programmes in Pain & Pain Management, University of Otago, Christchurch, comments:
"In this study, mice were injected with purified IgG antibodies drawn from the blood serum of people with fibromyalgia, and examined to determine whether they showed similar behavioural responses to stimuli as those in humans with the disorder. The mice demonstrated hypersensitivity to mechanical and thermal stimuli (ie they responded more quickly to a lower amount of stimulation).
"All pain is a product of interactions between the nervous system (including the brain) and other parts of the human body, so while this study suggests that the antibodies may initiate the symptoms, it doesn’t yet explain why this persists and why there are numerous spinal and brain changes in fibromyalgia.
"The response in mice suggests treatments to reduce the amount of IgG antibodies circulating in the blood might reduce symptoms in humans. These treatments typically involve separating plasma from the blood and replacing this with either saline or by treating the plasma to eliminate the IgG and returning the plasma to the body, similar to dialysis.
Long Covid patients appear to have enhanced inflammatory responses, potentially from the IgG antibodies produced in response to the virus. Long Covid symptoms are quite similar to those experienced by people with fibromyalgia.
"The major caution about this study is that it’s conducted in mice, and humans are not mice. Mice can’t describe their experiences so we’re inferring from their behavioural responses to short-term stimulation to humans who may be experiencing fibromyalgia for many years. We also may know a great deal about the possible mechanisms associated with developing fibromyalgia or long Covid, but treatments may be quite a long way off.
"What’s interesting is that although fibromyalgia has been known about since at least the early 1800s, skeptics continue to argue that it is not a “disease” but could represent distress, depression or “somatic disorder” where physical symptoms are thought to arise from psychological illness. Similar points have been made about long Covid. That women are more likely to experience both fibromyalgia and long Covid may, or may not, be relevant – there is a long history of women’s ill health being dismissed as “mental illness”."
No conflict of interest declared.
Emeritus Professor Warren Tate, biochemist and molecular biologist, Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, comments:
"This study is an important step forward in understanding the complex disease of Fibromyalgia Syndrome that has widespread pain as a dominant feature for patients. This study shows antibodies are present in Fibromyalgia at high enough levels to invoke painful sensory hypersensitivity when transferred to mice.
"Fibromyalgia is within a group of chronic diseases like Myalgic Encephalomyelitis /Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that have also shown autoantibodies (antibodies that mistakenly target a person's own tissues or organs). The specific autoantibodies highlighted in Fibromyalgia not surprisingly have a different response, namely widespread pain.
"Does this mean Fibromyalgia is a condition of the immune system and not the brain, as this Guardian headline reviewing the research suggests? It seems more likely the wider array of symptoms similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are brain related, but the autoantibodies are an important secondary feature of the disease, just as they are in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."
No conflict of interest declared.
Science Media Centre NZ
Our aim is to promote accurate, evidence-based reporting on science and technology by helping the media work more closely with the scientific community.
The Science Media Centre is New Zealand's only trusted, independent source of information for the media on all issues related to science. Thousands of news stories providing context from and quoting New Zealand researchers have been published as a direct result of our work.
Braden Currie: Sets Sights On The Ironman North American Championships In Texas
Whanganui Regional Museum: Historic Wedding Dress Unveiled, A Piece Of Marton’s Heritage
Donovan Ryan: Local Runner Takes Out Frontrunner Christchurch Marathon
University of Auckland: Tributes Flow For Much Loved Pacific Leader Melegalenu’u Ah Sam
NZEI: Ministry Of Education Cuts Will Disproportionately Affect Pasifika
Day One Hapai te Haeata: Call To Action For Young Filmmakers Against The Backdrop Of Funding Cuts