On cytokines, inflammation, pain and fibromyalgia Cytokines are inter-cellular chemical messengers produced mostly by white blood cells. Some are generally pro-inflammatory (inflammatory cytokines turn inflammation ‘on’) while others are generally anti-inflammatory (they turn inflammation ‘off’). High levels of inflammatory cytokines indicate an ongoing inflammatory process. There might not be the appearance of ‘inflammation’ as we…
Growth hormone in fibromyalgia. Growth hormone is one of the numerous chemical mediators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA,) a very complex system that governs many functions, including the immune response to stress. Various abnormalities of the HPAA have been implicated in fibromyalgia, including abnormalities in the production and release of growth hormone. Some research has…
The term ‘sickness syndrome’ refers to a constellation of non-specific symptoms that develop in connection with many ailments, especially infections. Simply stated, when you get an infection you feel lethargic, fatigued, sleepy, and somewhat depressed. You feel sick.
Fibromyalgia results in those same symptoms, not (of course) because it’s caused by a ‘bug’, but fibromyalgia might trick your brain into thinking you’ve got one doozy of an infection – an infection that never seems to go away.
To see how fibromyalgia does that, and the expected results of such trickery – read on.
Basically, the immune system becomes activated during times of stress. ‘Stress’ can be an infection, an injury, or emotional/psychological stress. The activated immune system releases cytokines (pro-inflammatory cytokines) that communicate with your brain by stimulating nerves. Then your brain also begins releasing cytokines, with a resulting effect on sleep, mood and certain behaviors.
That makes sense, because if you have an injury, an infection, or you’re under a great deal of psychological stress, it’s probably good for you to sleep more. A general sense of fatigue is also beneficial. Your body wants you to stay home, not go out, not work – just lay low until you feel better.
Ultimately the infection clears, the injury heals, or the stressful time passes. Your body sounds the ‘all-clear’ and you’re good to go again.
Fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome frequently occur together (they are frequently “co-morbid”.) Up to around 40% of those with fibromyalgia have irritable bowel syndrome (reported figures vary from around 30% to around 60% or even higher.) And up to around 30% of those with irritable bowel syndrome have fibromyalgia.
What might account for this frequent association?
Earlier today I was reading up on the latest research in chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Some of what I read was complicated – very complicated. I read one article with a title like “Ion-gated channel activator and hyper-kinetic porphyrins in a rat model of post-encepaletic fatigue.” (OK, that wasn’t the real title – and some…
Let’s take a look at a recent publication that briefly reviews curcumin for autoimmune disease.
We’ll see that curcumin (an active ingredient in turmeric,) is recognized as safe, and that it has recently been shown to be effective against several serious conditions in human and/or animal studies.
That sounds promising. But your doctor will never have a chance to prescribe it for you. Why might that be?
A long time ago – nearly 25 years ago in fact (ouch!) and just after graduating from college, I went on a three week canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) up in Northern Minnesota.
Towards the end of that trip my hands became very inflamed – mostly the back of my hands. The inflammation was fairly extreme. So much so that it was limiting my ability to paddle – and my hands hurt.
I had earlier gouged my side on a tree branch during a portage. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason I connected the two, thinking that the wound plus continuous sun exposure was causing the hand inflammation.
I assumed that once the trip was over my hands would get better. But they didn’t.
Migraine is triggered by nerve signals that cause the release of inflammation causing substances. Odd as it might seem, nerve impulses release these inflammation causing substances all the time – in everyone – in moderation. Migraine means that something’s not quite right. It might be that too many nerve signals are being generated – or too much of the ‘substance’ is being released – or that there is an excessive reaction to that substance – or some other thing/combination that results in excess sensitivity.
The inflammation that’s caused by nerve activity is called neurogenic inflammation. In the case of migraine, it’s the blood vessels of the brain that become inflamed – and probably the nerve itself . We’ll look at that nerve in a moment. It’s a big one – the trigeminal – with a central portion located in the brainstem and numerous branches – some of which go to the face – others of which go to the blood vessels of the brain.
A number of different medications and medication classes have been found to be at least somewhat effective in the prevention of acute migraine attacks.
However, because upstream events triggering migraine attacks are poorly understood, identification of these agents has largely been the result of serendipitous observations combined with presumed class effects (e.g. anticonvulsants).
A better understanding of migraine would allow for a more rational approach to the discovery and development of medications to prevent migraine attacks.
On investigation, a number of existing migraine preventatives are found to inhibit NF-kB.
It is proposed that migraine results from over-activation of NF-kB (though some as yet unknown mechanism) and that effective migraine prevention can be achieved through the use of NF-kB inhibitors. Of particular value might be those natural NF-kB inhibitors which have been proven safe by extensive human use over the course of several millenia.
The origins of aspirin date back over 3500 years. The Eberus papyrus (a collection of medicinal recipes dating back to the middle of the second millennium BC) describes an infusion of dried myrtle leaves used to ease the pain of rheumatism and for back problems. Juice extracted from the bark of willow trees was later used by Hippocrates, the celebrated ‘father of medicine’, in the fifth century BC to ease pain and fevers. Both of these preparations contain salicylic acid, the precursor of modern aspirin.
NF-kB is the Master Switch – the primary means by which inflammation is ‘adjusted’ – turned on and off. Many, many different molecules interact with NF-kB – some stimulating it (increasing inflammation) and others inhibiting it (decreasing inflammation.) The balance between these positive (pro-inflamatory) and negative (anti-inflammatory) influences determines the extent of inflammation at any given time.
You probably know, or at least once knew, that “scurvy” is the name given to the disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. You might even have heard the story of how a ship’s surgeon performed “the first clinical trial” as a means of discovering that, yes, scurvy results from a lack of fresh fruits – and we’ll get to that in a moment. But before we do, I need to convince you just how bad – how really, really bad scurvy was.
Imagine yourself as the doctor in charge of a wilderness outpost in 1750.
A number of your troops are beginning to show signs of illness. Some are losing their teeth. Many have bright red patches on different parts of their bodies. What little hair they have left shows a distinct ‘corkscrew’ pattern. Many are too weak to get out of bed. One disease or many?
Thanks for your interest in helping. As background, I’ve developed an all-natural, herbal lozenge for relief of chronic pain, including Back pain, Arthritis, Nerve pain, Joint pain and ‘Other’ pain, (like fibromyalgia.) The product is called “Banjo” – an acronym of the above pain conditions. You can view the product label here. The Banjo lozenge…
