The diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain in diseases such as fibromyalgia (FM) are lacking effective standardised protocols that can be widely accessed and implemented by healthcare professionals across the globe. Persistent hyperalgesia and allodynia are characteristic symptoms of FM. This disease has indicated a refractory tendency to conventional treatment ventures, largely resultant from a lack of etiological and pathogenic understanding of the disease development. Emerging evidence indicates that the central nervous system (CNS) plays a critical role in the amplification of pain signals and the neurotransmitters associated therewith. We examined the contribution of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel and the major nociceptive components in response to fibromyalgia-like pain in an intermittent cold-stress (ICS) model, in the prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, hippocampus and thalamus areas of the brain. The use of TRPV1 gene deletion mice served to elucidate the role of the TRPV1 receptor in the development and expression of FM-like pain. The results suggest that TRPV1 upregulation is central to the sustained sensation of FM related hyperalgesia. Furthermore, the potential therapeutic benefits of electroacupuncture (EA) at bilateral ST36 acupoint were analysed in order to identify the analgesic effects and mechanism associated with this therapy. The findings indicate that EA treatment successfully attenuated both mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia and suggests that a definitive underlying mechanism of neuromodulation through EA is responsible for providing analgesic benefits to patients suffering from FM.

纤维肌痛 (FM) 等疾病的慢性疼痛的诊断和治疗缺乏有效的标准化协议，可供全球医疗保健专业人员广泛使用和实施。持续性痛觉过敏和异常性疼痛是 FM 的特征性症状。这种疾病表明了对常规治疗企业的难治倾向，这主要是由于对疾病发展缺乏病因学和致病性了解。新出现的证据表明，中枢神经系统 (CNS) 在疼痛信号和与之相关的神经递质的放大中起着关键作用。我们检查了瞬时受体电位香草素 1 (TRPV1) 通道和主要伤害性成分对间歇性冷应激 (ICS) 模型中前额叶皮层、躯体感觉皮层、海马和丘脑区域中纤维肌痛样疼痛的贡献的大脑。TRPV1 基因缺失小鼠的使用有助于阐明 TRPV1 受体在 FM 样疼痛的发展和表达中的作用。结果表明，TRPV1 上调是 FM 相关痛觉过敏持续感觉的核心。此外，还分析了双侧 ST36 穴位电针 (EA) 的潜在治疗益处，以确定与该疗法相关的镇痛作用和机制。