Key Milestones Contributing to the Understanding of the Mechanisms Underlying Fibromyalgia

Geoffrey Littlejohn; Emma Guymer

doi:10.3390/biomedicines8070223

Key Milestones Contributing to the Understanding of the Mechanisms Underlying Fibromyalgia

Biomedicines. 2020 Jul 17;8(7):223. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines8070223.

Authors

Geoffrey Littlejohn^{1

2}, Emma Guymer^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne 3168, Australia.
² Departments of Rheumatology, Monash Health, Melbourne 3168, Australia.

Abstract

The promulgation of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1990 criteria for fibromyalgia (FM) classification has significantly contributed to an era of increased research into mechanisms that underlie the disorder. The previous emphasis on putative peripheral nociceptive mechanisms has advanced to identifying of changes in central neural networks that modulate pain and other sensory processes. The influences of psychosocial factors on the dynamic and complex neurobiological mechanisms involved in the fibromyalgia clinical phenotype are now better defined. This review highlights key milestones that have directed knowledge concerning the fundamental mechanisms contributing to fibromyalgia.

Keywords: 1990 ACR criteria; central sensitization; fibromyalgia; mechanisms.

Publication types

Review