Neurosteroids as a possible new horizon in the treatment of fibromyalgia

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a central chronic pain syndrome with fatigue, sleep disorders, and other symptoms. It has 1–5 % worldwide prevalence, 3:1 female-to-male ratio, and shows correlation with stress. The pathogenic mechanism is unknown, biomarkers are missing, and patient management is extremely difficult due to the lack of resolutive therapies. We developed a pathogenic model of FM based on a thalamocortical loop network that shifts from monostability to bistability for decreasing GABAergic and increasing glutamatergic transmission, leading to the appearance of a high-firing-rate steady state that represents FM altered central pain processing. Here, we propose the hypothesis that the pathogenic GABA/glutamate unbalance could be effectively counteracted by the use of neurosteroid drugs acting as positive allosteric modulators of both synaptic and extrasynaptic GABA_A receptors. Our hypothesis is based on evidence suggesting the involvement of large fluctuations of gonadal neurosteroids (notably brain allopregnanolone withdrawal in perimenstrual/peripartum periods) and of adrenocortical hormones (notably cortisol rise during stress activation) in FM pathogenesis and in the regulation of central GABA/glutamate balance. Therefore, our hypothesis provides a link between FM clinical features (such as female prevalence and correlation with stress) and endocrine influences on neurotransmission, suggesting the use of neurosteroid drugs for the treatment of the disease.