Fibromyalgia: It may be of autoimmune origin!

The main symptoms of fibromyalgia are intense widespread pain, severe fatigue, and sleep disturbances. The causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, and only symptomatic treatments are currently available. IgG antibodies from patients with fibromyalgia were injected into mice. These mice developed typical fibromyalgia symptoms such as increased sensitivity to pain, muscle weakness, loss of innervation, and reduced locomotor activity. It is therefore possible that the presence of these antibodies triggers fibromyalgia symptoms in human patients. Even more interesting: in mice, the symptoms disappeared after a few weeks, once the antibodies had been completely eliminated. This suggests that targeting these IgG antibodies could be a potential treatment approach.