Q. I have suffered for years with fibromyalgia. Recently I heard about using growth hormone to treat fibromyalgia, and I wonder if it works as well as it is advertised.
A. Fibromyalgia is a disease marked by chronic pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Several studies suggest that growth hormone deficiency may be a factor in fibromyalgia, but this theory has never been fully explored. GH deficiency is documented in only about 30% of fibromyalgia patients.
As the name implies, GH promotes growth during childhood and adolescence, so it is highest in our younger years. By age 30 it begins to decline rapidly and by age 60 it has dropped to 40% or less of its peak level. According to many researchers this drop is responsible for the signs of aging that are familiar to all of us: the decline in skin thickness, muscle mass, immune function, sexual performance, memory, eyesight, bone mass, sleep quality, etc.
Adult GH deficiency has many features reminiscent of fibromyalgia, but GH deficiency alone is not the whole story. Many other hormones influence and are influenced by GH, and the resulting jumble is baffling to clinicians and research scientists alike. It is becoming clear that both the release of GH from the pituitary gland and its biological activity as it circulates in the bloodstream are tightly controlled.
There is hope that GH injections, although very expensive, would help fibromyalgia. One study has reported on the use of GH replacement therapy in carefully selected fibromyalgia patients. GH injections were given for nine months with impressive improvement in their ability to function. However, at some time during the treatment period, 28% of the treated group experienced carpal tunnel symptoms that were relieved by reducing the dose. All those who experienced improvement on GH injections lost benefits within months of stopping the treatment.
There is enormous controversy over whether the use of certain nutritional supplements influences GH and thereby affects fibromyalgia symptoms, or if the supplements have a more direct action independent of GH. Most of the recommended nutrients are well-known vitamins and minerals, and supplementation with these raises no eyebrows, nor is it particularly expensive. Under your physician’s care, there are several others that hold some promise and are worth checking out. Top of this list is S-adenosyl methionine, an antidepressant nutrient that, in double-blind studies, is also shown to reduce the number of tender points, areas of pain that are a hallmark of fibromyalgia. Prescription antidepressants often aid fibromyalgia sufferers in sleep and many other ways but do not lessen the chronic pain.
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide is another exotic candidate for supplementation. It is an antioxidant that occurs in all living cells. In the brain it assists in the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and noradrenaline. Low levels of these neurotransmitters are often associated with fibromyalgia, and clinical experience using NADH for fibromyalgia symptoms is encouraging.
The controversy over treatment of fibromyalgia will continue until something is found that actually helps people with this problem. Until then, the nutrients S-adenosyl methionine and NADH, even as expensive as they are, cost much less and generate less debate than growth hormone.
This article appears in July 9 • 2004.