Is Fibromyalgia Related To The Intestinal Flora?
The intestinal flora is forming part of the most curious investigations in recent years. It is the set of living microorganisms that inhabit our intestines, and that includes many types of bacteria, viruses and even fungi.
The intestinal flora fulfills numerous essential functions for our organism. As is well known, these bacteria are essential for us to properly digest food. But this is not its only role in our body.
The composition of this flora can be related to numerous pathologies. For example, with obesity. In this article we are going to explain its relationship with fibromyalgia, a disease that produces chronic pain.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a complex disease that affects around 3% of the population. In fact, its prevalence is much higher in women than in men. It is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread muscle and skeletal pain.
This pain has no observable cause. In addition, it is usually accompanied by tiredness, insomnia and mood swings. The cause seems to be an alteration in the way in which the brain processes painful stimuli, so that they are intensified.
In many people, phenomena that trigger the typical symptoms of fibromyalgia have been observed. For example, it has been observed that stress or infections can trigger it. But, until relatively recently, its relationship with the intestinal flora had never been observed.
What is the relationship with the intestinal flora?
As we have already mentioned, the intestinal flora is made up of all the microorganisms that inhabit our digestive system. They are bacteria, fungi and viruses that maintain a close relationship with our body.
In recent years it has been shown that there is an interaction between this intestinal flora and our body. In other words, the composition of this flora interferes in many aspects of our health. Because, indeed, each person has a different composition.
A study conducted at McGill University has focused on observing the intestinal flora of people with fibromyalgia. To do this, they took a sample of 156 women, 77 of whom suffered from fibromyalgia.
What they did was study the species of bacteria that existed in the intestinal flora of each of the patients. In the same way, they tried to find out which were the ones that were in greater and lesser proportion in each one.
What was observed in the intestinal flora of people with fibromyalgia?
When studying all these people, many differences were observed in the composition of intestinal microorganisms of people with fibromyalgia. In the first place, what was appreciated is that the symptoms of the disease were related to an alteration in the proportion of bacteria.
Similarly, it was observed that the intensity of symptoms could also be related to the intestinal flora. That is, there was a higher amount of certain bacteria in people who suffered a lot of pain and fatigue, for example.
The problem that arises in the research is that it is not clear yet whether these changes in the gut microbiota are the cause of fibromyalgia, or simply a characteristic of the disease. In fact, the study focused a lot on the pain symptom. For this reason, they still have to study if there are the same changes in the intestinal flora in other diseases that cause chronic pain. This way you can see if the association is true.
What do you suppose the intestinal flora and fibromyalgia are related?
The fact that the intestinal flora can be related to fibromyalgia opens up a wide range of possibilities. Treatments and new diagnostic techniques could be developed to better control this disease. In fact, the modification of the intestinal flora is already being used to treat some pathologies. In addition, fibromyalgia is a truly disabling disease, so this provides hope for the future of these patients.
