Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder with unclear pathophysiological mechanisms, which leads to challenges in patient management. In addition to pain, the disorder presents with a broad range of symptoms, such as sleep disruption, chronic fatigue, brain fog, depression, muscle stiffness, and...
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Biomedicines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/2/615 |
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| author | Viviana Mucci Ilaria Demori Cherylea J. Browne Choi Deblieck Bruno Burlando |
| author_facet | Viviana Mucci Ilaria Demori Cherylea J. Browne Choi Deblieck Bruno Burlando |
| author_sort | Viviana Mucci |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder with unclear pathophysiological mechanisms, which leads to challenges in patient management. In addition to pain, the disorder presents with a broad range of symptoms, such as sleep disruption, chronic fatigue, brain fog, depression, muscle stiffness, and migraine. FM has a considerable female prevalence, and it has been shown that symptoms are influenced by the menstrual cycle and periods of significant hormonal and immunological changes. There is increasing evidence that females with FM experience an aggravation of symptoms in pregnancy, particularly during the third trimester and after childbirth. In this perspective paper, we focus on the neuro-endocrine interactions that occur between progesterone, allopregnanolone, and cortisol during pregnancy, and propose that they align with our previously proposed model of FM pathogenesis based on GABAergic “weakening” in a thalamocortical neural loop system. Based on our hypothesis, we introduce the possibility of utilizing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a non-invasive treatment potentially capable of exerting sex-specific effects on FM patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:06:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa74d13d6178497db8e0a9be52fc7c0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:06:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa74d13d6178497db8e0a9be52fc7c0a2023-11-16T19:20:49ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592023-02-0111261510.3390/biomedicines11020615Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation TreatmentViviana Mucci0Ilaria Demori1Cherylea J. Browne2Choi Deblieck3Bruno Burlando4School of Science, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, AustraliaDepartment of Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genova, Corso Europa, 26, 16132 Genova, ItalySchool of Science, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, AustraliaAntwerp Management School, University of Antwerp, Boogkeers 5, 2000 Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Pharmacy, DIFAR, University of Genova, Viale Benedetto XV, 3, 16132 Genova, ItalyFibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder with unclear pathophysiological mechanisms, which leads to challenges in patient management. In addition to pain, the disorder presents with a broad range of symptoms, such as sleep disruption, chronic fatigue, brain fog, depression, muscle stiffness, and migraine. FM has a considerable female prevalence, and it has been shown that symptoms are influenced by the menstrual cycle and periods of significant hormonal and immunological changes. There is increasing evidence that females with FM experience an aggravation of symptoms in pregnancy, particularly during the third trimester and after childbirth. In this perspective paper, we focus on the neuro-endocrine interactions that occur between progesterone, allopregnanolone, and cortisol during pregnancy, and propose that they align with our previously proposed model of FM pathogenesis based on GABAergic “weakening” in a thalamocortical neural loop system. Based on our hypothesis, we introduce the possibility of utilizing transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a non-invasive treatment potentially capable of exerting sex-specific effects on FM patients.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/2/615chronic paingonadal hormonescortisolGABAserotonintDCS |
| spellingShingle | Viviana Mucci Ilaria Demori Cherylea J. Browne Choi Deblieck Bruno Burlando Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment Biomedicines chronic pain gonadal hormones cortisol GABA serotonin tDCS |
| title | Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment |
| title_full | Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment |
| title_fullStr | Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment |
| title_short | Fibromyalgia in Pregnancy: Neuro-Endocrine Fluctuations Provide Insight into Pathophysiology and Neuromodulation Treatment |
| title_sort | fibromyalgia in pregnancy neuro endocrine fluctuations provide insight into pathophysiology and neuromodulation treatment |
| topic | chronic pain gonadal hormones cortisol GABA serotonin tDCS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/2/615 |
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