Newswise — Bethesda, Md. (August 19, 2015)—Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic pain from no clear source. Patients with fibromyalgia frequently have sleep problems: Their deep sleep brain wave patterns are often disrupted by brain waves that correspond to wakefulness. Previous studies have suggested that these irregular wave patterns worsen and may cause the pain. In a new study in Journal of Neurophysiology, researchers constructed a computational model that recreated the sleep patterns observed in patients with fibromyalgia to understand how the abnormal patterns arose.
The research team focused on the molecular targets of sodium oxybate, a drug reported to improve sleep in patients with fibromyalgia. They found that altering the activity of three specific targets—GABAB currents, the potassium leak currents and hyperpolarization-activated thalamic currents—restored sleep patterns in their model. Surprisingly, altering just the potassium leak currents or the hyperpolarization-activated thalamic currents could also restore normal deep sleep wave patterns. According to the researchers, drugs acting on one of these targets in the thalamus, a region in the brain that regulates sleep, might be enough to prevent disrupted sleep and its related adverse effects and provide relief to patients with fibromyalgia. In addition, “since no animal models of fibromyalgia exist, our model provides a much-needed tool for understanding what makes current fibromyalgia drugs efficacious and for finding more effective drugs,” the researchers wrote.
The study “Thalamic mechanisms underlying alpha-delta sleep with implications for fibromyalgia” is published ahead-of-print in the Journal of Neurophysiology.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: To schedule an interview with a member of the research team, please contact the APS Communications Office at [email protected] or 301-634-7209. Find more research highlights in the APS Press Room.
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About the American Physiological SocietyPhysiology is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function in health and disease. Established in 1887, the American Physiological Society (APS) was the first U.S. society in the biomedical sciences field. The Society represents more than 11,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals with a worldwide readership.
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