Fibromyalgia is a chronic rheumatic disease characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain, without demonstrable organic alterations, with a painful sensation on pressure at specific points. It does not have a single cause, but there are many factors involved in the development of fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a disease that is in the spotlight of researchers, since it is related to other systems, but its origin is not clear. It has been found to be related to disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system, with alterations in neurotransmitters, hormones and the immune system, and genetic factors have also been found to be related to the onset of fibromyalgia.
Genetic factors of fibromyalgia
As there are genetic factors that contribute to the development of this disease, a person’s genetic susceptibility could be studied with a genetic test. However, to date, there is a lack of research in this area. Genetic testing of a large population of fibromyalgia sufferers could find genetic patterns that predict predisposition to fibromyalgia.
It is estimated that fibromyalgia affects approximately 2 to 5% of the population. In addition, it has been found to affect women 10 times more than men. However, it is estimated that about 90% of people who should be diagnosed with fibromyalgia are not properly diagnosed. This is because it is a multifactorial disease that shares symptoms with other pathologies.
Although the exact causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, there are some known factors that coincide in the majority of patients. Fibromyalgia could be produced by an alteration of certain neurotransmitters of the nervous system. Additionally, several genetic polymorphisms related to this pathology have been described, this fact could justify the presence of several members of a family affected by fibromyalgia.
Diseases related to fibromyalgia
There are diseases that can lead to fibromyalgia, such as rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune diseases. Therefore, many times there is no clear diagnosis and it is important to properly diagnose a person in order to provide short-term solutions.
Although fibromyalgia has no cure, there are treatments that help improve the pain and treat the symptoms derived from it. These treatments are aimed at increasing the quality of life of patients. In addition to pharmacological treatments, exercise and behavioral therapies are recommended.
Fibromyalgia is a disease that has to be treated by physicians from various disciplines who understand this syndrome and its treatment. With the different treatments, the person’s quality of life will improve. Fibromyalgia does not produce physical sequelae nor does it influence the survival of the patient, in fact the quality of life of each patient is different and varied.
In summary, fibromyalgia can impair your quality of life, as well as lead to other diseases. Current treatments seek to improve symptoms and mitigate the possible effects. However, by performing DNA health tests on fibromyalgia patients, information with diagnostic value would be obtained, which would allow the search for new therapeutic targets, as well as the development of drugs that can regulate the altered genes and minimize the ailments caused by the disease.
