Oxidative Stress
Is fibromyalgia a physiological problem or psychological? – (02-16-04)
Increased DNA fragmentation and ultrastructural changes in fibromyalgic muscle fibres
This article is pretty interesting. We’ve spent much time trying to determine if fibromyalgia is a physiological problem or psychological. I’ve never been a fan of the diagnosis and I feel that FM is just a “catch-all” term made by physicians that don’t understand physiology. Many of the symptoms of FM can relate to GI complaints, mitochondrial defects or unregulation of the immune system. The findings in this study match what I’ve always felt.
This small study finds damage to the DNA and lowered levels of mitochondria in patients with FM. This could be a result of increased oxidative stress with inability of the cell to keep up. Ultimately, lowered energy production (decreased ATP production) will result in easy fatigue ability of the muscles. Further “sickening” of the cell could result in DNA damage from increased oxidative stress. This all points to a global approach to FM–cleaning up the lifestyle, increased intake of fruits and veggies, and targeted nutritional supplementation to support healthy cellular metabolism.
Ann Rheum Dis — Abstracts: Sprott et al. 63 (3): 245 –
