Proinflammatory cytokine levels in fibromyalgia patients are independent of body mass index

Abstract

BackgroundFibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by chronic, widespread muscular pain and tenderness and is generally associated with other somatic and psychological symptoms. Further, circulatory levels of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6) may be altered in FM patients, possibly in association with their symptoms. Recently, rises in BMI have been suggested to contribute to increased circulating levels of proinflammatory cytokines in FM patients. Our aim was to measure the circulatory levels of proinflammatory cytokines to determine the influence of BMI on these levels in FM patients and healthy volunteers (HVs). In Spanish FM patients (n = 64) and HVs (n = 25), we measured BMI and serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines by capture ELISA.FindingsThere were significant differences in BMI levels between FM patients (26.40 ± 4.46) and HVs (23.64 ± 3.45) and significant increase in IL-6 in FM patients (16.28 ± 8.13 vs 0.92 ± 0.32 pg/ml) (P < 0.001). IL-1β and TNF-α decreased in FM patients compared with HVs. By ANCOVA, there was no significant association between BMI and TNF-α (F = 0.098, p = 0.75) or IL-6 (F = 0.221, p = 0.63) levels in FM patients.ConclusionsOur analysis in FM patients of BMI as a covariate of proinflammatory cytokines levels showed that serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels are independent of BMI. Further studies are necessary to dissect these findings and their implication in future therapeutic approaches for FM patients.

Neuropeptides CRH, SP, HK-1, and Inflammatory Cytokines IL-6 and TNF Are Increased in Serum of Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome, Implicating Mast Cells

“…There is increasing evidence that changes in these inflammatory cytokine levels may influence the severity of symptoms in FMS patients (Mendieta et al, 2016;Guttenbrunner et al, 2011;Nugraha et al, 2013). In agreement with our findings, other studies reported that IL-6 was increased in the serum of FMS patients (Hernandez et al, 2010;Ross et al, 2010;Behm et al, 2012) and that its levels correlated with FMS severity (Uceyler et al, 2011) (Table 2). Nevertheless, some papers reported no difference in serum IL-6 levels between FMS patients and controls (Wallace et al, 2001;Gur et al, 2002;Kim et al, 2010).…”

“…One previous study (using ELISA) also reported increased plasma TNF in FMS patients (Bazzichi et al, 2007a), but other studies apparently found no difference in TNF serum levels between FMS patients and controls (Wallace et al, 2001;Garcia-Campayo et al, 2008;Ross et al, 2010). Surprisingly, another study reported decreased serum TNF levels in FMS patients compared with controls, but the levels in both patients (20.42 6 7.24 pg/ml) and controls (35.73 6 0.72 pg/ml) were 20 times or more higher (Hernandez et al, 2010) than the levels we report (1.79 6 0.62 pg/ml and 0.69 6 0.16 pg/ml, respectively).…”

Lack of Circadian Pattern of Serum TNF-α and IL-6 in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome

“…Moreover, these correlations did not match with the study findings of Hernandez et al [20] who have reported the decreased level of TNF-a and significant increase in IL-6 in patients with FMS. One of the latest study by Topal et al [21] reported the significant increased level of serum TNF-a in patients with FMS compared to controls.…”

Monocyte Expression Levels of Cytokines in Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome

“…25 A study showed that IL-1a levels of FMS patients were too low to be within the measurement range. 26 There was no significant difference between 64 FMS patients and 25 healthy volunteers included in that study in terms of age, sex, ethnic origin, and other demographic data such as educational status and socioeconomic level. However, BMI in FMS patient group was significantly higher than the control group.…”

“…28 Contrary to these studies, there are studies which detected a lower TNF-a level in the patient group. 26 Contradictory results of these studies which compared results from plasma and serum might be arising from the differences in patient selection criteria, number of participants, age, BMI, and measurement methods. Furthermore, in four studies which examined the relationship between FMS and IL-8 level, 6,10,22,24,25,[27][28][29][30][31] there was no significant difference between the measurements of the patient and the control groups.…”