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Dr. Amir Minerbi and his colleagues at the McGill University Health Center and the Université de Montréal have identified 19 bacterial species whose amount varied up or down in the microbiome of people with fibromyalgia.
Landmarks
- Fibromyalgia is characterized by pain in muscles, tendons and ligaments;
- It causes fatigue, sleep disorders and cognitive difficulties;
- This incurable disease strikes 2% to 4% of the population;
- Chronic diffuse pain is his main symptom.
The Montreal team used several techniques, including artificial intelligence, to "confirm that the changes observed in the microbiome of subjects with fibromyalgia were not caused by factors that modify the microbiome, such as diet. , medications, physical activity and age.
We made an unprecedented observation, namely, a direct correlation between the severity of symptoms and the presence or absence of certain bacteria.
The egg or the chicken?
Researchers can not for the moment establish with certainty if the microbiome variations observed in fibromyalgia patients are only markers of the disease or if they play a role in its appearance.
Dr. Minerbi and his team now want to see if the gut microbiome is undergoing the same type of changes in the presence of other chronic pain, such as low back pain, headache, and neuropathic pain.
In addition, researchers want to know if bacteria can cause pain and fibromyalgia, and if their mere presence can speed up the diagnostic process and even facilitate a cure.
You should know that fibromyalgia is difficult to diagnose. Sometimes patients wait for a diagnosis for four or five years.
Thanks to machine learning, our computer was able to diagnose fibromyalgia from the only composition of the microbiome with an accuracy rate of 87%.
Researchers are currently working to increase this rate, which could facilitate diagnosis in the coming years.
The details of these works are published in the journal Bread (in English).
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