Overview
- The Nature Medicine paper published July 28, 2026 analyzed DNA from more than 2.5 million people, including about 55,000 diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and found 26 genomic regions that affect risk for the syndrome.
- The strongest signal maps to the HTT gene, which is also implicated in Huntington’s disease, and a separate variant highlights the receptor GPR52 that regulates HTT levels.
- Integration with single‑cell expression data showed the risk regions are most active in nervous‑system cells, supporting the view that fibromyalgia reflects altered pain processing in the brain and nerves.
- The study found substantial genetic overlap with conditions such as low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome and post‑traumatic stress disorder, implying shared nervous‑system mechanisms across chronic pain disorders.
- Authors stress genetics increase risk but do not determine who develops fibromyalgia, no sex differences in genetic risk were seen, no clinical genetic test or new treatment is ready, and the team has launched the Chronic Pain Genomics Consortium to pursue mechanistic studies and therapeutic translation.