Growth hormone as concomitant treatment in severe fibromyalgia associated with low IGF-1 serum levels. A pilot study

Abstract

Abstract Background There is evidence of functional growth hormone (GH) deficiency, expressed by means of low insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) serum levels, in a subset of fibromyalgia patients. The efficacy of GH versus placebo has been previously suggested in this population. We investigated the efficacy and safety of low dose GH as an adjunct to standard therapy in the treatment of severe, prolonged and well-treated fibromyalgia patients with low IGF-1 levels. Methods Twenty-four patients were enrolled in a randomized, open-label, best available care-controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 0.0125 mg/kg/d of GH subcutaneously (titrated depending on IGF-1) added to standard therapy or standard therapy alone during one year. The number of tender points, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D), including a Quality of Life visual analogic scale (EQ-VAS) were assessed at different time-points. Results At the end of the study, the GH group showed a 60% reduction in the mean number of tender points (pairs) compared to the control group (p vs. 8.25 ± 0.9). Similar improvements were observed in FIQ score (p Conclusion The present findings indicate the advantage of adding a daily GH dose to the standard therapy in a subset of severe fibromyalgia patients with low IGF-1 serum levels. Trial Registration NCT00497562 (ClinicalTrials.gov).