According to a study titled “Elongated cutaneous silent period in fibromyalgia suggesting central sensitization as pathogenesis” and published in the journal PLOS One, dysfunctional spinal cord processing may be responsible for pain in patients with fibromyalgia (FM).
Among its other side effects, fibromyalgia manifests as chronic, widespread pain, but the root cause of this pain remains unclear. A recent study has shown that central pain amplification is central to the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia. The pathogenesis of FM, also known as central sensitization, is a process characterized by increased pain and sensory processing in the spinal cord and brain.
The researchers compared the cutaneous silent period (CSP), a spinal reflex mediated by A-delta cutaneous afferents used to assess pain processing in the central and peripheral nervous systems, between FM patients and healthy controls. The analyzed sample included 24 patients with fibromyalgia (diagnosed according to the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification) and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. CSP was measured from the abductor pollicis brevis muscle, located between the wrist and the base of the thumb, using standard electrodiagnostic equipment. Patient parameters included statistical information, the number of tender points, a visual analog scale, and scores from fibromyalgia effects surveys.
These results suggest that fibromyalgia is linked to dysfunction in the central nervous system’s pain modulation mechanisms. Furthermore, according to the researchers’ study, there was no correlation between CSP and clinical parameters such as VAS score, K-FIQ score, age, and height, raising questions about the use of CSP to assess disease severity. Indeed, the researchers emphasize that further studies are needed to more accurately assess the relationship between CSP parameters and clinical data.
The authors write in their report: “In conclusion, dysfunction of supraspinal control may be responsible for pain in FM, providing further evidence that central sensitization underlies disease pathogenesis.”
