Cytokine patterns in fibromyalgia and their correlation with clinical 
manifestations.

Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2007 Mar-Apr;25(2):225-30.

Bazzichi L, Rossi A, Massimetti G, Giannaccini G, Giuliano T, De Feo F, 
Ciapparelli A, Dell'osso L, Bombardieri S.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of 
Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

PMID: 17543146


OBJECTIVE: To examine the possible role of the soluble factor in 
fibromyalgia (FM) by studying the correlation of cytokine levels with the 
patients' clinical and psychiatric profile.

METHODS: Eighty FM patients underwent clinical and psychiatric evaluations, 
and plasma levels of cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha), 
aspecific markers of inflammation, rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-extractable 
nuclear antigen (ENA) antibodies, and anti-nuclear factor (FAN) were measured.

RESULTS: Higher levels of IL-10, IL-8 and TNF-alpha were found in FM 
patients than in controls. Significant correlations between the biochemical 
parameters and clinical data were found.

CONCLUSION: The higher levels of cytokines found in FM patients suggest the 
presence of an inflammatory response system (IRS) and highlight a parallel 
between the clinical symptoms and biochemical data. They support the 
hypothesis that cytokines may play a role in the clinical features of 
fibromyalgia. In addition, the similar cytokine patterns found in FM 
patients with different psychiatric profiles suggests that IRS impairment 
may play a specific role in the disease.