Researchers found spinal disinhibition in people with fibromyalgia, adding new clues about the role of central pain processing in this condition.
adds a new piece to the puzzle, showing spinal disinhibition — disruption of the spinal cord ’s inhibitory systems that modulate pain signals — in people with fibromyalgia syndrome. The results suggest that spinal disinhibition could be a mechanism for generating pain in fibromyalgia.
Recent evidence points to fibromyalgia as a pain dysregulation disorder, although the causes of altered pain processing in the brain and spinal cord remain elusive. To measure spinal disinhibition in the new study, researchers used the Hoffman reflex rate-dependent depression as a biomarker. They applied nerve-stimulating electrical pulses to the calves of 31 patients with fibromyalgia and 20 healthy control volunteers.
The noninvasive HRDD measurement might someday be useful in studies testing early treatment in fibromyalgia, Marshall said. Identifying people with impaired central pain processing at an early stage may provide opportunities to optimize interventions. However, more research is needed to confirm the results of this small study.
Hildebrand said this study is exciting because there are so few preclinical models elucidating mechanisms in fibromyalgia. He hopes future fibromyalgia studies can test for sex differences in spinal disinhibition and maybe even include spinal cord imaging.While the causes of spinal disinhibition are not known, it can happen in neuropathic and inflammatory pain conditions, Marshall said. For example, spinal disinhibition has been seen in patients with diabetic neuropathy.
“If you have impaired or reduced KCC2, it changes the chloride balance within the postsynapse itself,” Marshall said.
Pain Pain Management Chronic Pain Spinal Cord Nerve Cell Brain Gamma Aminobutyric Acid GABA Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Γ-Aminobutyric Acid Nerves Tendons ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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