Fibromyalgia has identifiable biomedical causes.
Mounting biomedical research demonstrates that fibromyalgia is associated with identifiable physiological causes, including central nervous system sensitization, neuroinflammation, immune dysregulation, oxidative stress, and gut microbiome alterations.
The retrieved literature consistently points to identifiable biomedical factors underpinning fibromyalgia, such as central sensitization, neuroinflammation (glial activation), cytokine profile alterations, autoantibody involvement (IgG transfer), oxidative stress, and gut-brain axis dysregulation. Although exact diagnostic biomarkers are still being refined and clinical presentations are heterogeneous, the evidence strongly supports the existence of underlying biomedical mechanisms rather than solely psychological or psychosomatic origins.
Rosalba Siracusa, Rosanna Di Paola, Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Daniela Impellizzeri. Fibromyalgia: Pathogenesis, Mechanisms, Diagnosis and Treatment Options Update. 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22083891
Reviews pathogenesis mechanisms including central sensitization, inflammatory, immune, endocrine, and genetic factors.
See more details
Daniel Albrecht, Anton Forsberg, Angelica Sandström, Courtney Bergan, Diana Kadetoff, Ekaterina Protsenko, Jon Lampa, Yvonne Lee, C. Olgart Höglund, Ciprian Catana, Simon Červenka, Oluwaseun Akeju, Mats Lekander, George Cohen, Christer Halldin, Norman E. Taylor, Minhae Kim, Jacob M. Hooker, Robert R. Edwards, Vitaly Napadow, Eva Kosek, Marco L. Loggia. Brain glial activation in fibromyalgia – A multi-site positron emission tomography investigation. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.09.018
Provides in vivo PET imaging evidence supporting brain glial activation in fibromyalgia pathophysiology.
Andreas Göebel, Emerson Krock, Clive Gentry, Mathilde R. Israel, Alexandra Jurczak, Carlos E. Morado-Urbina, Katalin Sándor, Nisha Vastani, Margot Maurer, Ulku Cuhadar, Serena Sensi, Yuki Nomura, Joana Menezes, Azar Baharpoor, Louisa Brieskorn, Angelica Sandström, Jeanette Tour, Diana Kadetoff, Lisbet Haglund, Eva Kosek, Stuart Bevan, Camilla I. Svensson, David A. Andersson. Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to mice. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci144201
Demonstrates that patient-derived IgG can passively transfer sensory hypersensitivity to mice, highlighting underlying immunological mechanisms.
Luke Furtado O’Mahony, Arnav Srivastava, Puja Mehta, Coziana Ciurtin. Is fibromyalgia associated with a unique cytokine profile? A systematic review and meta-analysis. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/keab146
Provides a systematic review and meta-analysis showing significant differences in circulating cytokine profiles in fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls.
Iannuccelli C, Favretti M, Bianchi B, Dolcini G, Cauli C, Ferraro V, Gioia C, Bazzichi L, Atzeni F, Batticciotto A, Galli F, Varrassi G, Ablin JN, Gualtierotti R, Conti F, Di Franco M, Salaffi F, Sarzi-Puttini P, Di Carlo M. Pathogenetic and clinical aspects of fibromyalgia: one year in review 2026.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.55563/clinexprheumatol/asx3uo
Summarizes ongoing evidence for central sensitization, non-classical autoimmune mechanisms, gut microbiome alterations, and oxidative stress.
Varrassi G, Chelidze K, Tran YV, Van Pham PV, Al Alwany AA, Encinas MN, Sarzi-Puttini P, Myrcik D, Corriero A, Farì G, Leoni MLG. The microbiota-gut-brain axis in fibromyalgia: a scoping review.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.55563/clinexprheumatol/5yhjub
Maps contemporary evidence implicating the microbiota-gut-brain axis as a biological contributor to fibromyalgia pathophysiology.
Casale R, Capodaglio P, Petrikonis K, Paladini A, Sarzi-Puttini P, Bernatoniene J. Fibromyalgia, Eating Disorders and Rehabilitation: The Nrf2 Link.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15030364
Identifies elevated oxidative stress markers and mitochondrial dysfunction linked to Nrf2 pathway dysregulation in fibromyalgia patients.
The paper trail · every fact has a biography
Challenge the receipt
Citation formatting by citeproc-js (Frank Bennett) and the Citation Style Language project. Source and licenses.
Terms · Privacy · How verdicts work · Dispute this receipt