Background/Purpose: Our aim was to investigate the thiol/disulphide homeostasis, which has an important role in many cellular activities such as antioxidant protection, detoxification, cell growth and apoptosis in fibromyalgia patients.

Methods: The study population was formed of a total of 93 participants; 46 females of which were diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 47 (1 male, 46 females) healthy volunteers. Fibromyalgia patients were diagnosed using criteria American College of Rheumatology (ACR). In both groups, native thiol-disulphide exchanges were examined using the automated measurement method newly developed by Erel and Neselioglu.

Results: When we determine at the thiol/disulphide homeostasis parameters in both groups, we can see the mean native thiol (p=0.000), total thiol (p=0.004), native thiol/total thiol (p=0.000) levels and white blood cell (p=0.040) were lower in the fibromyalgia group than the control group. The mean disulphide level (p=0.008), the disulphide/native thiol ratio (p=0.000), the disulphide/ total thiol (p=0.000) levels and glucose (p=0.041) were higher in the fibromyalgia group when compared to the control group. A negative correlation was determined between age, marital status, waist circumference, fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQ) and native thiol, total thiol levels. Low thiol levels and high disulphide levels in the fibromyalgia patients were found to be independent of gender, age and body mass index.

Conclusion:  In this study we have shown that thiol/disulphide homeostasis may be used as a novel oxidative stress marker in fibromyalgia patients. Further studies are needed to confirm the pathophysiologic role of thiol/ disulphide homeostasis in fibromyalgia.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/how-does-thioldisulphide-homeostasis-change-in-fibromyalgia-patients/