Growth Hormone Therapy for Fibromyalgia

In a 1997 study, it was found that 1 out of 3 fibromyalgia patients has low levels of growth hormone and other related hormones. The finding encourages a series of clinical studies on growth hormone therapy as a potential treatment for some fibromyalgia patients.

What is Growth Hormone?

The natural human growth hormone (GH) is the hormone that regulates cell growth, cell development and cell repair. GH is essential for physical growth, strength development and renew of cells. It also play a role in other body chemistry such as metabolism. GH level reduces as one age which explains why a person stop growing physically and have less energy as one matures.

GH deficiency can be found in some children with genetic disorders. The lack of GH not only affects their physical development, but also can lead to symptoms akin to fibromyalgia such as muscle pain and weakness, fatigue and sensitivity to low temperatures.

How does Growth hormone work?

The production of GH, which is regulated by another hormone known as the growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH), happens in the pituitary gland in the brain. The GHRH tells the pituitary gland to secrete GH into the bloodstream. In order to activate cell repair work, GH has to be released from the brain, enter and travel through the bloodstream to the liver where it is required to stimulate the production of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) hormone responsible for cell repair work.

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