Fibromyalgia and Sleep Disorder Treatment

This longitudinal study will investigate impact of improved sleep quality on chronic pain, fibromyalgia and how the disrupted sleep pattern alters the neuroenvironment.

The main aim of this study is to evaluate the interaction between pain and sleep, both directly by comparing outcome measures of pain and sleep, and out of one inflammatory perspective using proteomics analyzes. Currently, there is a need for studies that highlight both the above-mentioned interaction and how the inflammatory response in the central nervous system as well as in the systemic circulation is involved. The cohort in existing study (FINE study) is already being used to find associations between these, but as it is a cross-sectional study, the design cannot determinate the causality. The implementation of a longitudinal study where sleep is the single parameter that is modified would add an invaluable scientific basis for the assessment of this complex interplay. Because FINE study also has measurements of both systemic as central immunoactivity, the scientific value becomes very high, and can potentially be helpfull in understanding what happens to pain when sleep is affected, and which immune mediators that are relevant in that dynamic. If it turns out that the treatment of sleep disorders is effective from a pain perspective, it would in addition bring a whole new line of treatment options in fibromyalgia, and emphasize the importance of implementation a proper sleep analysis in the investigation phase for this patient group.