Immune Cells, Itch, Pain & Cold: Study Reframes Fibromyalgia Sensory Symptoms

Here at the London Fibro Clinic, our Fibromyalgia Doctors would like to inform patients and readers about an important new breakthrough – “fibromyalgia might be caused by changes in the body’s immune system which alter nerve cells in the skin” [1]. – New King’s College London researchers have discovered that antibodies could target sensory nerve-supporting cells thus rendering fibro as an immune-mediated condition.

Did You Know?

“It is estimated to affect 1 in 20 people in the UK, and there is currently no cure. Alongside chronic pain and fatigue, many people with fibromyalgia experience a range of sensory abnormalities” [1]

Fibro can be described as a collection of symptoms such as debilitating fatigue and unrelenting pain. Moreover, as this disorder is not easy to diagnose (particularly in the case of GPs, who have not undergone the necessary years of additional training and in-house clinical expertise in pain conditions and treatments therapies and injectables, as that of Pain and Fibro Doctors), sufferers can easily be misdiagnosed. – Especially as a number of fibromyalgia symptoms overlap with other disorders.

 The Low-Down on This Latest Fibro Study

The medical journal, Brain, has just published research findings from scientists at King’s College London. The latter backs up previous demonstrations that fibro is an immune system disorder, as opposed to a disease of the brain.

 Lead study author, Mathilde Israel, noted that when it comes to fibromyalgia, patients “report a range of sensory abnormalities such as pins and needles, tingling, sensitivity to different fabrics or extreme sensitivity to cold like when they open the fridge or step out on a winter’s day – which impact on quality of life” [1].  – And once an accurate diagnosis has been made, it is improving a patient’s quality of life, that our Fibro Consultants focus on. -This entails drawing up a Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan which incorporates conventional, as well as the latest leading-edge state-of-the-art therapies and injectables (including pain blockers and Botox).

Israel also explained that the team of scientists were keen to determine if “sensory abnormalities could be caused by circulating antibodies in the body, already linked to chronic pain and tiredness” [1]. So in order to put this theory to the test, the researchers isolated antibodies from fibro sufferers, and injected them into mice, so that they could record any changes. – And the results indicated that the mice who had received antibodies from fibromyalgia patients: “showed increased sensitivity to light, touch, and cold. whereas those that had been injected with antibodies from healthy participants, were unaffected” [1].

So by tracking the electrical signals transmitted by the nerves of the mice, the researchers proved that that fibromyalgia antibodies changed the mechanoreceptors’ ‘firing,’ thereby “making many of these touch sensors also respond to cold temperature” [1]. Once this was ascertained, the scientists  translated these discoveries to people. Moreover, by recording electrical nerve signals, the researchers determined that the mechanoreceptors in fibro sufferers “also responded more often to cold compared to healthy, pain-free individuals. They believe that these changes, caused by antibodies, are responsible for the sensory abnormalities that people with fibromyalgia experience” [1]. And this discovery has been well received by our renowned Fibro Doctors who are alwys looking to push the boundaries of research and treatment.

 Fibromyalgia Pain to Report to Your Pain Specialist

You may initially experience pain in one region of your body (such as your shoulders and neck), although any area of your body could be impacted. The pain scales slides from mild to severe, with times of amelioration and ‘flare ups’. Fibro anomalies can include:

• Aching
• Burning
• Soreness
• Stiffness, or
• Gnawing pain (which frequently involves sore spots in particular areas of the muscles [2]

You can discuss any of the aforementioned symptoms with one of our Pain Doctors, either in-person or online.

References

[1].  (2025). “Immune system changes affecting sensory nerves could cause fibromyalgia.” Kings College London.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/immune-system-changes-affecting-sensory-nerves-could-cause-fibromyalgia

[2]. John Hopkins Medicine (2025). “Fibromyalgia.”

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/fibromyalgia