Amino acids are the essential building blocks of protein. The balance of these acids can indicate important information about the status of nutrient metabolism throughout the body. It can also help identify abnormalities that may be causing or contributing to pain, fatigue, and mood symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

The amino acid homocysteine, for example, is an intermediate product formed as the body "breaks down," or metabolizes, methionine, another amino acid. Adequate B-vitamin levels are required to carry out this process. If there are deficiencies of B6, B12, folic acid, or other B-vitamins, the body cannot adequately carry out this process, and homocysteine levels may begin to accumulate in the bloodstream as a result. This metabolic "glitch" has been implicated in a diverse range of health conditions, including fibromyalgia.

One study detected high homocysteine levels-more than 3 times higher than normal-in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with fibromyalgia compared to controls, indicating possible chronic B vitamin deficiency.1 Symptoms of B-vitamin deficiency may include numbness or tingling in the extremities, memory loss, weakness of the limbs, changes in mood and personality, and fatigue.

Other amino acid imbalances may alert the practitioner to problems involving serotonin, an important neurotransmitter and hormone that modulates mood, sleep, and pain. One study found that fibromyalgia patients with lower serum levels of the amino acid tryptophan, which the body uses as source material to produce serotonin, tended to experience more pain.2 This may be why tryptophan supplementation can sometimes be an effective treatment for some patients with fibromyalgia.3 Experts have suggested that identifying fibromyalgia patients with low levels of tryptophan and serotonin "may be a simple way to identify persons who will respond well to this [supplementation] approach."4

Another study by Dutch researchers identified lower plasma levels of four other amino acids- valine, leucine, isoleucine and phenylalanine-in fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls. The researchers suggested that deficiencies of these analytes may contribute to fibromyalgia by adversely affecting both energy supply and protein production in muscle tissue. Correcting these imbalances with focused amino acid supplementation may be warranted in patients with fibromyalgia, they suggest.5

Some, but not all, clinical trials have shown supplementation with the amino acid S-adenosylmethionine, or SAM-e, to benefit patients with fibromyalgia.6-8 Powerful substances in the body called catecholamines (linked with mood and stress response) depend on SAM-e for the chemical processing (methylation) they require to function effectively. SAM-e is also needed by the pineal gland in the brain to properly synthesize melatonin, the circadian sleep hormone, from the amino acid tryptophan (see Melatonin and Fibromyalgia).

Excitatory amino acids (EAAs) play an important role in modulating pain sensation. Some researchers have suggested that the intensity of pain in patients with fibromyalgia may reflect increased release of EAAs. Levels of the EAAs glutamine and asparagine in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with fibromyalgia have been found to correlate with the intensity of their pain symptoms. In addition, levels of non-excitatory glycine and taurine may also play an important role in modulating dynamics of pain sensation in fibromyalgia, they suggested.9

Because cumulative evidence suggests that a variety of amino acid imbalances can be associated with symptoms of fibromyalgia, testing is important to identify which dysfunctional patterns might be addressed in each patient, in order to achieve best clinical results.

The Amino Acids Analysis measures over 30+ analytes, including homocystine, tryptophan, SAM-e, valine, leucine, isoleucine and phenylalanine. Test results can reveal nutritional and metabolic dysfunction in patients with fibromyalgia and guide the clinician toward the need for specific nutrient interventions.

References:
1 Regland B, Andersson M, Abrahamsson L, Bagby J, Dyrehag LE, Gottfries CG. Increased concentrations of homocysteine in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Scand J Rheumatol 1997;26(4):301-7.

2 Schwarz MJ, Spath M, Muller-Bardorff H, Pongratz DE, Bondy B, Ackenheil M. Relationship of substance P, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid and tryptophan in serum of fibromyalgia patients. Neurosci Lett 1999 Jan 15;259(3):196-8.

3 Birdsall TC. 5-Hydroxytryptophan: a clinically-effective serotonin precursor. Altern Med Rev 1998 Aug;3(4):271-80.

4 Juhl JH. Fibromyalgia and the serotonin pathway. Altern Med Rev 1998 Oct;3(5):367-75.

5 Maes M, Verkerk R, Delmeire L, Van Gastel A, van Hunsel F, Scharpe S. Serotonergic markers and lowered plasma branched-chain-amino acid concentrations in fibromyalgia. Psychiatry Res 2000 Dec 4;97(1):11-20.

6 Jacobsen S, Danneskiold-Samsoe B, Andersen RB. Oral S-adenosylmethionine in primary fibromyalgia. Double-blind clinical evaluation. Scand J Rheumatol 1991;20(4):294-302.

7 Tavoni A, Vitali C, Bombardieri S, Pasero G. Evaluation of S-adenosylmethionine in primary fibromyalgia. A double-blind crossover study. Am J Med 1987 Nov 20;83(5A):107-10.

8 Volkmann H, Norregaard J, Jacobsen S, Danneskiold-Samsoe B, Knoke G, Nehrdich D. Double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study of intravenous S-adenosyl-L-methionine in patients with fibromyalgia. Scand J Rheumatol 1997;26(3):206-11.

9 Larson AA, Giovengo SL, Russell IJ, Michalek JE. Changes in the concentrations of amino acids in the cerebrospinal fluid that correlate with pain in patients with fibromyalgia: implications for nitric oxide pathways. Pain 2000 Aug;87(2):201-11.


All lab tests can be done through the mail in the privacy of your own home, except blood tests, we send you to a lab to have your blood drawn for these. After you pay for the test we mail you the kit, the results take two weeks, the test results will be mailed to us and we will call you to go over the results, its that easy! All tests include the consultation for the report of findings.

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