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Monosodium glutamate likely worsened fibromyalgia symptoms
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Dietary glutamate might have contributed to recurrent symptoms in some patients with fibromyalgia, according to study results.
Researchers evaluated 57 patients (aged 18 to 75 years) with fibromyalgia (FM) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who followed a 4-week diet that avoided additive excitotoxins, including monosodium glutamate (MSG) and aspartame. Among the 37 patients (92% women) who completed the diet, 31 reported that more than 30% of their fibromyalgia symptoms had resolved.
Twenty-six of the 37 patients then were randomly assigned to a 2-week, double blind challenge and received either juice alone (placebo) or juice with 5 g MSG for 3 consecutive days each week. Total symptom score (28-symptom checklist) was the primary outcome measure. Visual analog scale for pain (VAS) for FM and IBS, IBS Quality of Life (IBS QOL) questionnaire and the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire-Revised (FIQR) were secondary outcomes.
A mean excitotoxin score of 2.0 for the MSG group and 3.3 for the placebo group showed patients followed similar diets, consuming approximately one food with excitotoxins per week. Compared with placebo, patients who consumed MSG had a significant return of FM symptoms, based on total symptom score (P<.02). FM worsened among the MSG group (mean score 48 vs. 35.7; P<.03) when assessed by FIQR.
IBS QOL indicated that MSG patients had decreased quality of life regarding IBS symptoms (mean score 25.5 vs. 17.5; P<.05). VAS for FM also was greater in the MSG group (P<.07). Gastrointestinal symptoms, including watery stools (57% vs. 17%) and abdominal fullness/bloating/swelling (57% vs. 33%), returned more frequently for MSG patients compared with controls. Of symptoms often associated with MSG consumption, only sweating and flushing occurred more frequently in the MSG group (52% vs. 30% and 33% vs. 17%, respectively).
“This novel research implicates glutamate as a major adverse excitotoxin in some FM patients,” the researchers concluded. “Dietary manipulation is a relative simple and low-cost nonpharmacological intervention that warrants further exploration.”
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