posted in All on August 28, 2022 by
Updated December 29, 2023
Goebel A, Krock E, Gentry C, Israel MR, Jurczak A, Urbina CM, Sandor K, Vastani N, Maurer M, Cuhadar U, Sensi S, Nomura Y, Menezes J, Baharpoor A, Brieskorn L, Sandström A, Tour J, Kadetoff D, Haglund L, Kosek E, Bevan S, Svensson CI, Andersson DA. Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to mice. J Clin Invest. 2021 Jul 1;131(13):e144201. doi: 10.1172/JCI144201. PMID: 34196305; PMCID: PMC8245181.
This is the first research study to suggest that fibromyalgia may be autoimmune! The investigators removed immunoglobulin G antibodies (IgG) from humans with fibromyalgia. They then injected this IgG into mice, and it produced classic fibromyalgia problems in the mice:
– The mice ended up with higher pain levels. In the study, they withdrew paws at lower pressures than normal (using a pain measuring device, a dolorimeter). This meant that the mice felt pain at levels not felt as pain by normal mice.
– Increased cold sensitivity. They removed their paws from a cold metal plate earlier than normal)
– Became less active
– Became weaker (reduced paw grip strength)
– Skin biopsies showed few nerve fibers (like small fiber neuropathy)
– Some IgG from fibromyalgia humans attached to pain nerves in the mice. This provides a clue that there may be specific antibodies that target pain nerves, causing fibromyalgia problems.
– Some IgG from fibromyalgia humans attached to nerves along the spinal cords in the humans. This suggests that there may be antibodies that target nerves in humans, leading to fibromyalgia pain
– However, the IgG from fibromyalgia humans did not produce systemic inflammation. Nor did it produce inflammation-causing cytokines (immune system molecules that allow white blood cells to talk to each other)
– But IgG from “healthy” humans did none of the above!
The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.
Donald Thomas, MD
– Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in multiple body parts. Fatigue, trouble sleeping, and numerous other problems often accompany this pain.
– However, 10% – 30% of autoimmune disease patients (like lupus, Sjogren’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis) also have fibromyalgia.
– Most fibromyalgia patients respond poorly to the current standard of medical care treatments (exercise, depression therapies, nerve pain medicines, and sleep management).
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Years ago when told I had fibromyalgia in addition to SLE and Sjogren’s, I chose not to have the fibro treated because my understanding was it is not progressive and I was already take so much medication. Does this study confirm that it’s not progressive or shed any light on if it’s safe to continue a non-treatment approach?
Thank you for continuing to educate the autoimmune community. I’ve learned so much from your encyclopedia and blogs.
Ginger: This study does not address whether fibromyalgia is progressive or not. You are correct that although fibromyalgia can be very painful and life-altering (due to fatigue, memory problems, and such), it is not life-threatening. Medical treatments (like duloxetine, amitriptyline, pregabalin, etc.) can have so many side effects that putting up with fibromyalgia and exercising instead of taking more drugs are often preferable. However, it would be wonderful if this science were to lead to effective, safe treatments.
Thanks for the kind words, and comments, and for reading my blog.
Donald Thomas, MD
Thank you for sharing this research. I’ve always thought that it has something to do with autoimmunity, so this is exciting! I’m in my 60’s now, so I may not benefit from the research, but future generations will! It’s so interesting that I first was diagnosed with Lupus, followed by fibromyalgia, then along came inflammatory bowel disease, and most recently RA. I feel that the small nerve neuropathy seen in fibromyalgia is caused by autoimmunity, just no proof, maybe now research will be able to provide proof.
My experience is that firstly addressing someone else’s comment that fibromyalgia is progressive, provided my8amd those I know with it have all been diagnosed correctly and while doc7may be pretty dismissive of a lot of things regarding my experience, they seem pretty confident in the diagnosis. I would also argue in my experience that regular exercise is the worst treatment for me. It kills me. I’m already wheelchair bound and can’t walk unaided at all. I can’t sit for long in the natural position a chair would have me in because of increased pain and numbness in the legs. Pain medication that is specifically for nerve pain does absolutely nothing for me, and they keep trying to convince me that the type of pain medication that has been working for me doesn’t work for fibromyalgia, despite 10+ years of it helping with pretty steady increases because I know how to take it properly and carefully yet still effectively and no thanks to my drs. I exercise and its immediate effect is instantly worse pain, more severe breathing difficulties and greater weakness and reduced ability to move and increased physical exertion and then a delayed massive spike in fatigue that absolutely floors me and means anything I was still able to do after exercise which wasn’t much, I can no longer do, so if I need the bathroom, a drink, food, it all just has to wait as I cannot lift my arms and can barely keep my eyes consistently open. I’ve tried to explain this but I’m forever met with resistance of how itcannot possibly be that bad as if I don’t know how this has affected me after a lifetime of gradually increasing chronic pain and weird symptoms from childhood until now which takes me to almost 40. It’s greatly frustrating and more so when I continue to be met with accusations of being addicted to my medication also when it’s them constantly trying to throw more pills at things when I go to them and were I addicted I’d be running out long before my prescription is due and I’ve also proved before that I can stop whenever I need to from when they’ve put me on stuff that had me sleeping my life away and they insisted they could do nothing else. They soon found other ways once I’d gone cold turkey and then gone back to them once I’d self-detoxed and was sat in front of them in agony and suffering severely again. Its so difficult because they don’t listen to us and we are the ones suffering.
I’m an old Vietnam Era draftee who in the 90’s watched the Gulf War Volunteers come home. They were getting very sick while and after they came home ~250,000 of them were first said to have Fibromyalgia. The DOD ordered scientific testing and scientists discovered that the sick ones had been given special injections of secret experimental meds prepared for duty in the middle east. The soldiers who received these experimental injections were found to have Squalene antibodies and it was thought that the Anthrax vaccine they received had a squalene adjuvant. Other soldiers who hadn’t gone to the middle east were compared to the sick soldiers and they didn’t have squalene antibodies. The DOD told the scientists that they did the testing wrong, and also said that many people have squalene antibodies. The DOD had been testing Squalene Adjuvants since 1970 and adjuvants like MF59 were given to civilians in flu shots, so many people had squalene antibodies. The DOD didn’t want to call this fibromyalgia caused by Squalene Adjuvant, so they renamed the sickness as Gulf War Syndrome caused by several war time possibilities. Most did not prove out but DOD locked in on Sarin Gas as the cause of GWS. Read “Vaccine A”. Interestingly, 1400 weapon sited were exhaustively searched and not one had Sarin Gas WMD’s in IRAQ. History!!
i am a civilian ihave gulf war illness after just 1 vaccine with squalene adjuvant called PANDEMRIX . a biotherapy Rituximab Is a cure for Gulf war illness. but the fibromyalgia is a syndrome ditectly ln relation with all sleep deprivation: psychological or autoimune condition as : gulf war illness, Iglon5 , fatal insomnia family, cfs chronic fatigue syndrome, …all diseases who get a lack of deep sleep stage can simulate fibromyalgia, fibro is the miror of many health condition. treat the cause of the lack of sleep quality is the only treatment . Dr thomas , if you can work on UK gulf war veterans and GWI Civilians, you ll obtain a better Medical comprehensive data for Fibro civil patient.
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