New Research Illuminates Connection Between Fibromyalgia Antibodies And Pain

July 1, 2021

People with fibromyalgia can experience pain, stiffness, headaches, and cognitive issues, as well as fatigue and emotional distress. Although the causes of fibromyalgia aren’t well established, new research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that IgG antibodies make certain types of neurons more sensitive to painful physical and thermal stimuli. These results are part of growing evidence linking the nervous and immune systems, especially in autoimmunity and chronic pain, the authors say.

A team of scientists from the UK, Canada, and Sweden purified IgG from the blood of 8 individuals with fibromyalgia and 6 healthy controls, which they administered to female mice on 4 consecutive days. Subsequent tests revealed the mice that received IgG from those with fibromyalgia had increased sensitivity to cold temperatures and physical pressure compared to IgG from healthy controls. Electrophysiological studies also revealed a dose-dependent relationship between neuron sensitization and fibromyalgia IgG. Determining the antigens to which these autoantibodies respond and blocking this activity may provide new avenues for therapies.

Citation for report:

Goebel, A., Krock, E., Gentry, C., Israel, M. R., Jurczak, A., Urbina, C. M., 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., … Andersson, D. A. (2021). Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to mice. The Journal of clinical investigation, 131(13), e144201. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI144201