Evaluation of sympathetic adrenergic branch of cutaneous neural control throughout thermography and its relationship to nitric oxide levels in patients with fibromyalgia

Background: Fibromyalgia syndrome is defined as a complex disease, characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and other symptoms. The factors underlying physiopathology of fibromyalgia are not well understood, complicating its diagnosis and management. Objectives: To evaluate the peripheral vascular blood flow of the skin of the hands and the core body temperature as indirect measures of sympathetic adrenergic activity of the nervous system and its relationship to nitric oxide levels (NO) in women with fibromyalgia compared with healthy controls. Methods: Forty-two women with fibromyalgia and 52 healthy women were enrolled in this observational pilot study. We used infrared thermography of the hands and an infrared dermal thermometer to evaluate the peripheral vascular blood flow and tympanic and axillary core body temperature, respectively. We measured NO levels using the ozone chemiluminescence-based method. Results: Two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the tympanic (P=0.002) and hand temperatures were significantly higher in the patients with fibromyalgia than in the controls (P <= 0.001). Significant associations were also found between serum NO levels and minimum temperatures at the dorsal center of the dominant hand (beta=-3.501; 95% confidence interval [CI] -6.805, -0.198; P= 0.038), maximum temperature (beta=-5.594; 95% CI -10.106, -1.081; P=0.016), minimum temperature (beta=-4.090; 95% CI -7.905, -0.275; P=0.036), and mean temperature (beta=-5.519; 95% CI -9.933, -1.106; P=0.015) of the center of the palm of the non-dominant hand, maximum temperature at the thenar eminence of the dominant hand (beta=-5.800; 95% CI -10.508, -1.092; P=0.017), and tympanic temperature (beta=-9.321; 95% CI -17.974, -0.669; P=0.035) in the controls. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the women with fibromyalgia showed higher tympanic core body and hand temperature than the healthy controls. Moreover, there were negative associations between hand peripheral vasodilation and NO in the healthy women but not in those with fibromyalgia, suggesting a dysfunction of sympathetic cutaneous neural control.

Automated summary

This study found that women with fibromyalgia had higher tympanic core body and hand temperature compared to healthy controls. Negative associations between hand peripheral vasodilation and NO were observed in healthy women but not in those with fibromyalgia, suggesting dysfunction of sympathetic cutaneous neural control.