Fibromyalgia caused by ‘pain processing’ problem

Getty/milorad kravic

By Olivia Bowthorpe

Researchers have found strong genetic evidence that fibromyalgia is mainly a disorder of the central nervous system.

The team identified 26 genetic regions which affected the risk of developing the chronic pain condition in the largest study of its kind.

Professor Frances Williams, co-senior author on the paper and professor of genomic epidemiology at King’s College London, said it provides “conclusive evidence” that there is a genetic foundation for a condition that some people believe does not exist.

Williams said: "By studying the DNA of over 2 million individuals we can be confident that the findings are real and they suggest that fibromyalgia represents a problem in pain processing."

The team used international data on more than 2.5 million people, including almost 55,000 with fibromyalgia.

In Nature Medicine, the authors said the common and debilitating chronic pain syndrome has a “poorly understood etiology”.

“This work provides robust genetic evidence defining fibromyalgia as a central nervous system disorder, thereby establishing a biological framework for its complex pathophysiology," the team said.