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Researchers led by a team from the Medical Branch of the University of Texas at Galveston have been able to dramatically reduce the pain of fibromyalgia patients with drugs targeting insulin resistance.
This discovery could radically alter how chronic pain can be identified and managed. Dr. Miguel Pappolla, Professor of Neurology at the UTMB, said that although this discovery is very preliminary, it could lead to a revolutionary change in the way fibromyalgia and associated forms of chronic pain are treated. The new approach could save billions of dollars in the health system and reduce many people's reliance on opiates for pain management.
The team of UTMB researchers, as well as collaborators from all over the United States, including the National Institutes of Health, were able for the first time to separate fibromyalgia patients from normal individuals using a test. blood loss of insulin resistance or prediabetes. They then treated the fibromyalgia patients with a drug targeting insulin resistance, which significantly reduced their pain level. The study was recently published in PlosOne.
Fibromyalgia is one of the most common conditions causing chronic pain and disability. The global economic impact of fibromyalgia is enormous: in the United States alone, the associated health care costs are about $ 100 billion a year. Despite extensive research, the cause of fibromyalgia is not known. There is therefore no diagnosis or specific treatment for this condition, with the exception of drugs that relieve pain.
"Previous studies have shown that insulin resistance is causing dysfunction in the small blood vessels of the brain, and this issue is also present in fibromyalgia, so we sought to determine whether resistance to Insulin was the missing link in this disease, "said Pappolla. "We have shown that most fibromyalgia patients, if not all, can be identified by their A1c level, which is the average blood glucose for the last two or three months."
Pre-diabetics with slightly elevated A1c values have a higher risk of developing central (cerebral) pain characteristic of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders. "
The researchers identified patients who had been referred to a specialized pain pain clinic to be treated for widespread muscle / connective tissue pain. All patients meeting the fibromyalgia criteria were separated into smaller age groups. Compared with controls of the same age, A1c levels in fibromyalgia patients were significantly higher.
"Given the extensive research on fibromyalgia, we were surprised to see that previous studies had overlooked this simple connection," said Pappolla. "The main reason for this forgetfulness is that nearly half of fibromyalgia patients currently have A1C values in the normal range, but this is the first study to analyze these normalized levels. the age of the person, since optimal A1C levels vary over the course of life.The adjustment according to the age of the patients was crucial to highlight the differences between patients and the control subjects. "
For patients with fibromyalgia, metformin, a drug developed to combat insulin resistance, has been added to their current medications. They showed dramatic reductions in their pain levels.
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Material provided by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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