Immune-inflammatory pathways and clinical changes in fibromyalgia patients treated with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR): A randomized, controlled clinical trial.
Brain, behavior, and immunity August 1, 2019 Laura Andrés-Rodríguez, Xavier Borràs, A. Feliu‐Soler et al.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) reduced clinical severity in female fibromyalgia patients and prevented a decline in the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 that occurred in the treatment-as-usual group. Higher baseline levels of the chemokine CXCL8 weakened MBSR's beneficial effects on pain, energy, stiffness, and sleep quality. Higher baseline ratios of pro-inflammatory IL-6/IL-10 and CXCL8/IL-10 were linked to less improvement in psychological inflexibility after MBSR. The authors propose that immune biomarkers may help predict who responds to MBSR.