Historically, whether fibromyalgia was a true condition has been debated, as many researchers and clinicians believed it was a purely psychological phenomenon. However, recent research has discovered that this is a true disorder with physical characteristics that can significantly impact quality of life.
Now, fibromyalgia is thought to be a disorder characterized by improper pain signaling. People with FM tend to be hypersensitive to pain when compared to people without FM.[1] Additionally, people with FM also tend to have higher brain levels of glutamate[2] (an excitatory neurotransmitter) and decreased levels of GABA[3] (an inhibitory neurotransmitter), which may play a role in pain hypersensitivity.
References
- ^O'Brien AT, Deitos A, Triñanes Pego Y, Fregni F, Carrillo-de-la-Peña MTDefective Endogenous Pain Modulation in Fibromyalgia: A Meta-Analysis of Temporal Summation and Conditioned Pain Modulation Paradigms.J Pain.(2018-08)
- ^Harris RE, Sundgren PC, Craig AD, Kirshenbaum E, Sen A, Napadow V, Clauw DJElevated insular glutamate in fibromyalgia is associated with experimental pain.Arthritis Rheum.(2009-Oct)
- ^Foerster BR, Petrou M, Edden RA, Sundgren PC, Schmidt-Wilcke T, Lowe SE, Harte SE, Clauw DJ, Harris REReduced insular γ-aminobutyric acid in fibromyalgia.Arthritis Rheum.(2012-Feb)