IN BRIEF: Growth Hormone As a Complementary treatment For Fibromyagia

The Fibromyalgia Syndrome 's  (FMS) standard treatment consists of:

* Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, (SRI)
*  Opioids, and
*  Amitriptyline
* Anti-epileptic drugs
* Complementary Medicine

The pain reducing  efficacy  of those treatments seems to be limited and 30% is accepted as a good enough for drug marketing purposes [1-3].

A new study has shown that growth hormone, when administered in addition to SRI boosts the pain reducing success from 30% to 50% [4].  A Growth hormone (GH) is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration and it is generated by the pituary gland

[![][1]][2]

Fibromyalgia Targets: The Skeletal Muscles

The risks of growth hormone treatments are well outlined in a page by the Armstrong site. Mostly Fluid retention, Carpal tunnel syndrome,Impaired glucose regulation, Cardiomyopathy, Hyperlipidemia, according to the Mayo Clinic [4], because, yes, the Growth Hormone is a performance enhancing drug.

However, since Fibromyalgia can severely impact one's quality of  life, the combined risks of the standard FMS and of GH might still tempt some.

Hope this helps,

Talk to your Doctor

Sources

1. [medinewsdigest][3] ; "Fibromyalgia: Benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and massage-myofascial release therapy on pain, anxiety, quality of sleep, depression, and quality of life" ; Jan 2011
2. [medinewsdigest][4] ; "Fibromyalgia Pain: Comparative effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs" ;March 2011
3. [medinewsdigest][5] ; "Fibromyalgia Treatments With Antidepressants Gets Mixed Results" ; March 2012
4. [Pain Journal ; Elsevier ][6]; "Growth hormone treatment for sustained pain reduction and improvement in quality of life in severe fibromyalgia"; March 2012
5. [Mayo Clinic][7] ; ""Performance-enhancing drugs: Know the risks"
6. [Clinical Endocrinology ][8]; "Does growth hormone cause cancer?" ; 2006

Technorati Tags: [Complementary treatment][9], [Fibromyalgia][10], [Growth Hormone][11], [NCCAM][12]

[1]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Skeletal-Muscles-Wikipedia-Commons-e1335248945723.png (Skeletal Muscles (Wikipedia Commons))
[2]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Skeletal-Muscles-Wikipedia-Commons.png
[3]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=1810
[4]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=2100
[5]: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=4460
[6]: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304395912000875
[7]: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/HQ01105
[8]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16430706
[9]: http://technorati.com/tag/Complementary+treatment
[10]: http://technorati.com/tag/Fibromyalgia
[11]: http://technorati.com/tag/Growth+Hormone
[12]: http://technorati.com/tag/NCCAM

URL: http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=4578