Fibromyalgia syndrome, a complex disorder, is characterized by chronic widespread muscle pain and tender points in various parts of the body. The main symptoms of fibromyalgia include fatigue and disturbed sleep. People with fibromyalgia generally have how low dopamine levels in the brain, according to the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation. Dopamine acts as a chemical messenger believed to be involved in behavior, voluntary movement, motivation, sleep and mood.
Research
A study published in May 2004 in "Medical Hypotheses" proposes that a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors, such as stress and trauma, cause a reduction in the production of dopamine in the brain of people with fibromyalgia. Reduced levels of dopamine cause the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Research conducted at McGill University found that people with fibromyalgia do not release dopamine during painful stimulation, meaning that pain stimuli cause more pain in these individuals than in healthy control subjects.
Treatment
A study published in August 2005 in "Arthritis and Rheumatism" found that the dopamine agonist, pramipexole, is a safe and well-tolerated treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome. The double-blind study involved 60 patients with fibromyalgia. Patients received 4.5 mg of pramipexole orally every evening for 14 weeks. Researchers reported the patients receiving pramipexole experienced significant improvement in measures of pain, fatigue, function and global status.
American Pain Society Study
A study performed by researchers from Louisiana State University and published by the American Pain Society in June 2009 in "The Journal of Pain" found that alterations in the levels of the dopamine in fibromyalgia patients might be responsible for reduction in gray matter, the part of the brain that contains nerve cell bodies. The cause of this reduced gray matter was not understood in any previous studies. Researchers concluded that the connection between dopamine levels and gray matter density provide insights to a mechanism that explains some of the abnormal brain morphology associated with fibromyalgia.
New Drug for Fibromyalgia
Clinical Trials cites that a study conducted by GlaxoSmithKline found that a dopamine agonist, ropinirole can be used for the treatment of the symptoms of fibromyalgia. In a double-blind study, researchers administered ropinirole at a dosage between 1 to 24 mg once daily for 12 weeks in patients with fibromyalgia. The patients receiving ropinirole showed significant improvement in the chronic pain associated with this condition.
References
- The Fibromyalgia Research Foundation: The Basis of Pain in Fibromyalgia?
- "Medical Hypotheses"; Stress and Dopamine: Implications for the Pathophysiology of Chronic Widespread Pain; P. Wood; March 2004
- "The European Journal of Neuroscience"; Fibromyalgia Patients Show an Abnormal Dopamine Response to Pain; P. Wood; June 2007
- "Arthritis and Rheumatism"; A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Pramipexole, a Dopamine Agonist, in Patients with Fibromyalgia Receiving Concomitant Medications; A. Holman; Aug 2005
- American Pain Society: Fibromyalgia Patients Show Decreases in Gray Matter Intensity
- Clinical Trials: Fibromyalgia Study in Adults
