Serum growth hormone and insulin but not insulin-like growth factor-1 levels are elevated in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Standard radioimmunoassay (RIA) was employed to quantify basal serum growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1), and insulin levels in 32 normoglycemic patients with clinically active fibromyalgia and in 29 normoglycemic control subjects. The GH concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in female fibromyalgia patients than age-matched, normal female subjects. In contrast, basal serum IGF-1 concentrations did not differ between these groups. A scatter plot generated from two-stage, least-squares analysis showed that serum GH lacked correlation with the serum IGF-1 concentrations of normal female subjects (P = 0.73) and female fibromyalgia patients (P = 0.19). In addition to the results from serum GH and IGF-1 RIA, we also found significantly higher fasting serum insulin levels (P = 0.03) in male fibromyalgia patients and a trend toward elevated fasting serum insulin levels in the female fibromyalgia population ( P = 0.07), with the mean fasting level in the male fibromyalgia group (35.7 microU/ml(-1)) exceeding the upper limit of normal serum insulin levels (i.e., 27 microU/ml(-1)). Based on these results, basal serum GH and fasting serum insulin levels appear to be valuable surrogate markers in clinically active, normoglycemic fibromyalgia patients.
Denko
Charles W
CW
Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatic Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Malemud
Charles J
CJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000097:blood*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D007328:Insulin; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone