Daily Fluctuations of Progesterone and Testosterone are Associated with Fibromyalgia Pain Severity, 2017, Younger et al

Andy

Andy

Retired committee member
Abstract
The purpose of this longitudinal blood sampling study was to examine relationships between sex hormones and fibromyalgia pain. Eight women meeting case definition criteria for fibromyalgia provided venous blood samples and reported their fibromyalgia pain severity over 25 consecutive days. All women exhibited normal menstrual cycles and were not taking oral contraceptives. Cortisol, and the sex hormones estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, were assayed from serum. A linear mixed model was used to determine if fluctuations of sex hormones were associated with changes in pain severity. In the entire sample, day-to-day changes in both progesterone (p = 0.002) and testosterone (p = 0.015) were significantly and inversely correlated with pain severity. There was no relationship between estradiol and pain (p = 0.551) or cortisol and pain (p = 0.633). These results suggest that progesterone and testosterone play a protective role in fibromyalgia pain severity. Sex and other hormones may serve to both increase and decrease fibromyalgia pain severity.

Perspective
Sex hormones fluctuate normally in women with fibromyalgia, but may still contribute to pain severity.
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Open access at http://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(17)30804-0/fulltext
 
I'm not sure what to think of this. When he found that fatigue tracked leptin levels in ME/CFS (and the same I think for fibromyalgia) it looked like a promising and potentially specific link. But if all sorts of hormones also track (negatively in this case) symptoms are we getting closer to or further away from identifying the central mechanisms(s)?

ETA - Younger isn't claiming that these sex hormones are the central problem but that they modulate pain levels.
 
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From their Facebook page:
Neuroinflammation, Pain, and Fatigue Laboratory at UAB I'll give a full explanation by video in a few days, but I wanted to note that we did not see abnormal progesterone, estrogen, or testosterone in fibromyalgia. So, we do not think the hormones are causing fibromyalgia. Rather, if you already have fibromyalgia, your changing levels of hormones can impact how severe the pain is. - Jarred Younger
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