The American Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Association (AFSA) is the nation’s
leading nonprofit organization dedicated to funding
research that accelerates the pace of medical discoveries
to improve the quality of life for patients with
fibromyalgia.
 Through
donations, AFSA supports studies that seek out the causes
and treatments for fibromyalgia. This is an extremely
painful, fatiguing, and often debilitating medical
condition that affects 3 percent of the population. By
stepping up research on fibromyalgia, AFSA and its
generous contributors are working together to make a
substantial difference in the lives of millions.
 AFSA-funded
research is currently focused on identifying markers for
the disease and examining alterations in brain function
that may be responsible for the symptoms. The end goal is
effective treatments. A trial funded by AFSA showed that
low-dose naltrexone (LDN) significantly relieved fibro
pain in one out of four patients. This is better than any
of the FDA-approved drugs for the condition, but more work
is needed.
LDN targets the microglia, which are cells in your central
nervous system that outnumber your neurons by a factor of
three. While other drugs often prescribed for fibro alter
the way your neurons function, LDN exerts an
anti-inflammatory effect on the microglia to calm them
down. When microglia are in an inflammatory state, they
can control how the neurons in your brain and spinal cord
work ... or in the case of fibromyalgia, how they
misbehave to produce your symptoms.
If you have already tried anti-inflammatory medications,
such as aspirin or ibuprofen, you may be wondering: What
makes LDN any different? LDN works in the brain, not in
the peripheral tissues (e.g., blood, muscles or joints)
where traditional anti-inflammatory agents exert their
effects. So, if routine blood tests to pick up
inflammation in the periphery have failed, that is likely
because the inflammatory process is occurring in your
brain.
A better understanding of what is going on in the brain,
especially the microglia, is essential for developing
effective treatments for fibromyalgia. How exactly are the
microglia malfunctioning? What might be triggering them to
persistently act up? Are there any markers in the blood or
brain that may signal a disruption of microglia function?
Getting answers to these questions is key to designing
therapies that work for everyone.
Research to address the above questions is a tall order,
but two ambitious studies funded by AFSA in 2019 and 2020
provide a generous down payment toward answering them.
These studies will be completed in 2022 and you can read
more about them in our Projects
Funded section.
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