This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Aerobic activity did not affect serum IGF-1 levels in patients with fibromyalgia
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 levels remained constant in patients with fibromyalgia who completed low- and high-intensity aerobic exercise programs, while associated pain decreased slightly over time, according to recent study results.
Researchers in Sweden randomly assigned 49 women (median age, 52 years) with fibromyalgia (FM) to either a moderate-to-high intensity Nordic walking (NW) program (n=26) or a low-intensity walking (LIW) program (n=23). Both outdoor programs, which consisted of biweekly 40- to 45-minute workouts, were conducted for 15 weeks, and all patients underwent blood testing at baseline, upon completion and at 30-week follow-up.
No significant changes in patients’ serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels were noted at the end of either program. Researchers found results from a 6-minute walk test at 15 weeks, however, were greatly improved for the NW group (median increase 36.5 m) compared with the LIW group (median increase 8.0 m) (P=.033, difference in change between groups).
Across the entire cohort, researchers observed a significant decrease in pain threshold from baseline to endpoint (202.8 kPa vs. 189.9 kPa; P=.04), while pain trended only slightly downward (71 on a scale of 100 vs. 65.5; P=.052).
Of the 26 patients who submitted to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination at baseline, 15 participated at 15 weeks. Their changes in serum IGF-1 showed a positive correlation with the change in CSF neuropeptide Y (P=.001), CSF substance P (P=.072) and pain threshold (P=.058). At 30-week follow-up, the alteration in pain threshold became significant (P=.005).
“Baseline IGF-1 was associated with a decrease of pain in response to exercise, but the tendency disappeared when adjusted to age,” researchers said. “Changes in levels of IGF-1 correlated positively with changes in [substance P] and [neuropeptide Y] in CSF and with changes in pain threshold. It appears that a higher level of IGF-1 indicates less pain during exercise in FM, which needs to be further studied.”
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts