No, I haven’t strayed from looking at optimal diet for fibromyalgia, but I did stub my toe on the blood-brain barrier and how it can become more permeable and all that.  So I’ve been reading, and an article (Kobori et al) that has nothing to do with fibromyalgia has got me thinking.

The article is “Involvement of Moesin in the Development of Morphine Analgesic Tolerance through P-glycoprotein at the Blood-Brain Barrier.”  The blood-brain barrier first caught my eye, but then “morphine analgesic tolerance” gave me a double-take.  The article talks about how certain proteins (moesin, radixin, ezrin) regulate the plasma membrane.  I don’t understand most of it, but essentially, the protein moesin, if over-“expressed” can make P-glycoprotein over-“express” which then leads to the “development of morphine analgesic tolerance.”  In other words, your body won’t get pain relief from morphine anymore.  They talk about this in terms of taking regular doses of morphine, which then loses its effectiveness and you need more to get the same effect.  At least that’s how I’m reading it.

How does this connect with fibromyalgia?  It doesn’t, not really, but it reminds me of fibromyalgia and some of my own reactions to foods and medicines.  I don’t know if I ever had morphine, so setting that aside.  Maybe a list will be easier….

1. Food intolerances build up over time.  They’re not instant, allergic reactions.
2. Medicine intolerances have built up over time.  It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I couldn’t take penicillin anymore.
3. I’m wondering if building up a TOLERANCE to natural pain killers that our bodies release to fight regular pain works the same way.  If our bodies build up tolerances to things like morphine and other illegal substances so that we have to take more and more to have the same effect, is it possible for the same to happen to our own natural pain killers?  Thus sort of “causing” fibromyalgia by no longer fighting pain?
4. If so, can it be related to autoimmunity, the body turning on itself and blocking or killing off good things because it doesn’t recognize them as good?

As always, I dunno what the heck I’m talking about, but curiosity just keeps rearing its ugly head.