Objectives: 

Objetives: Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by widespread chronic pain. It is still not well known the aetiology of this syndrome, and there are not hematochemical or instrumental test on which to base a diagnosis. Recent studies suggest that cytokines seem to play a role in its pathogenesis. Chemokines are cytokine that regulate cell trafficking under physiological and pathological conditions. They also play a role in pain and analgesia. The aim of this study was to determine possible differences in the profile of systemic concentrations of chemokines between fibromyalgia patients and age-matched healthy women (controls).

Materials: 

Materials and Methods: The study comprised women diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM, age range 32-60, n=17) and healthy women (HW, age range 25-55). Serum concentrations of Eotaxin (CCL11), Fractalkine (CXC3CL1), HCC-4 (CCL16), I-TAC (CXCL11), MDC (CCL22), PARC (CCL18) and TARC (CCL17) were determined by ELISA, and compared between FM and HW groups.

Results: 

FM patients showed elevated serum levels of the following inflammatory chemokines: Eotaxin (p<0,05), I-TAC (p<0,01), MDC (p<0,001) and TARC (p<0,05). However, serum levels of Fractalkine were lower (p<0,05) in fibromyalgia patients than in HW. No differences in the circulating concentrations of PARC and HCC-4 (homeostatic chemokines) were found.

Conclusions: 

Conclusion: Fibromyalgia patients show, in general, higher serum concentrations of inflammatory chemokines than healthy women. The evaluation of these chemokines could help to the diagnosis of this syndrome.

This word was supported by grant PRIS10019 (FUNDESALUD) and PRI09A003 (Junta de Extremadura-FEDER).