ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2022
Comparison of the serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) between fibromyalgia and nociceptive pain groups; and effect of duloxetine on the BDNF level.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in fibromyalgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of its role as a potential biomarker.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Cortical excitability and analgesic effects of multisite transcranial direct current stimulation targeting the motor cortex and cerebellum in fibromyalgia.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- BDNF and IL-33 Dynamics in an Ultrasound Stress Model of Fibromyalgia-like Phenotypes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Microglial Activation in Nociplastic Pain: From Preclinical Models to PET Neuroimaging and Implications for Targeted Therapeutic Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Coenzyme Q10 Ameliorates Fibromyalgia-like Symptoms and Cognitive Deficits by Enhancing Hippocampal PGC-1α/FNDC5/BDNF Pathway in Reserpine-Treated Rats.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Article
- Protein Misfolding and Aggregation as a Mechanistic Link Between Chronic Pain and Neurodegenerative Diseases.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as a Marker of Physical Exercise or Activity Effectiveness in Fatigue, Pain, Depression, and Sleep Disturbances: A Scoping Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- The Role of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Chronic Pain: Links to Central Sensitization and Neuroinflammation.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Pain Biomarkers in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Current Understanding and Future Directions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- What Do We Know about Nociplastic Pain?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Immune-Related Diseases: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe primary objective was to compare the serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level in the patients with two types of pain: fibromyalgia (FM) and non-FM nociceptive pain (non-FM NP). The secondary objective was to investigate the effect of duloxetine on serum BDNF in FM patients and assess the direction of BDNF changes' relation to clinical parameters' alterations.
methodsThis is a study on 73 patients (50 FM and 23 non-FM chronic non-inflammatory pain patients). Serum BDNF was first compared between both groups. Patients with FM, then prospectively, underwent standardized FM treatment with duloxetine maximized to 60 mg/day. The Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), pain visualized analog scale (pain VAS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), polysymptomatic distress scale (PSD) and serum BDNF were measured and compared at baseline and 4 weeks after treatment in FM group.
resultsThe mean of adjusted BDNF level in the FM group had no significant difference than the non-FM NP group ((5293.5 ± 2676.3 vs. 6136.3 ± 4037.6; P value = 0.77). Using linear mixed model, we showed that duloxetine reduced BDNF level significantly in FM patients, even after adjusting for depression, pain and severity of the disease (P < 0.01). The FIQR, BDI-II, PSD, and pain VAS improved significantly after duloxetine treatment.
conclusionsNon-significant BDNF level difference between FM and non-FM nociceptive pain suggested that peripheral BDNF is not a pathophysiological feature of FM. The decreased BDNF level parallel with improvement of PSD/pain scores after duloxetine treatment indicates BDNF alteration in the pain modulation process, regardless of cause and effect.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.