In order to understand what causes diseases and how to better treat them, scientists often use animals models. The lab mouse is often the easiest to use, as they reproduce fast, are small, and behaviors like learning, memory, addiction, and socializing can be tested in them. Until now, mouse models of fibromyalgia have been difficult to make because the complex chronic disease has so many symptoms, from fatigue to chronic pain to anxiety to sleep issues.
NOTE TO SELF – READ: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24314231/
Review other models…
In 2021, researchers from the UK found that if you inject immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies from fibromyalgia patients into mice, they develop fibromyalgia symptoms. The mice became hypersensitive to pain and cold, became inactive, lost strength in their paws, and had less nerve fibers in their skin. How did this happen? It appears that the IgG antibodies from the fibromyalgia patients attacked neurons (gray-matter brain cells) and glia (white-matter brain cells) in the brain and nerve fibers of the mice.
This gives a clear picture of fibromyalgia being an autoimmune disorder, and particularly, a neurological autoimmune disorder.
NOTE TO SELF – READ: https://www.verywellhealth.com/autoimmunity-neuroinflammation-in-fibromyalgia-5197944
First study showing neuroinflammation in fibromyalgia: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246152
