TY - JOUR T1 - Lighting Up the Genetic Understanding of Fibromyalgia JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 214 LP - 215 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.121411 VL - 40 IS - 3 AU - OHAD OREN AU - JACOB N. ABLIN Y1 - 2013/03/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/40/3/214.abstract N2 - This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized the groundbreaking discovery of an important family of cellular receptors. It was Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka’s decades-long molecular dissections that deciphered the exciting mystery of how cells sense their environment1. Along their journey was a crucial milestone: the pinpointing of architectural parallels between the beta-adrenergic receptor and rhodopsin, the light-detecting receptor in the retina. That same revelation literally opened the scientific community’s eyes to a group of proteins that mediate innumerable functions in the human body. The pathobiological understanding of a plethora of medical conditions has greatly advanced since these receptors, the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), were identified. Now, it might be time for a common albeit historically underappreciated disorder to gain some benefits.Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM), an often-debilitating chronic pain syndrome, remains largely idiopathic. With its widespread nonarticular musculoskeletal pain and generalized tenderness, it is a diagnosis made when no tracing of structural or inflammatory process is present2. While FM has eluded clear etiological understanding for decades, its hallmark alteration in sensitivity to painful stimuli has been the target of meticulous investigation3,4. Enhanced central processing of pain has been implicated as the predominant mechanism, with correlations at the functional imaging level5. The … Address correspondence to Dr. Ablin; E-mail: jacob{at}post.tau.ac.il ER -