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…
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Elevation of cytokines in fibromyalgia, including IL-8, provides evidence in support of an inflammatory hypothesis. With exercise, the level of circulating markers of inflammation, including IL-8, are shown to decrease in fibromyalgia. It is well established that exercise reduces inflammation generally. Fibromyalgia symptom response to exercise is consistent with, and supports, the inflammatory hypothesis in…
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