Director of the Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Centers, Inc.]
HCG - A NEW PAIN TREATMENT BREAKTHROUGH?
If you've heard of the hormone HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) - a=20
hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy - it's probably because=
=20
you've either heard of, or been on, the HCG Diet.
The HCG Diet is a weight-loss approach that combines a very-low-calorie d=
iet=20
with injections of fat-burning HCG. It's a dieting method that's been=20
recommended by some holistic physicians for decades. It's recently seen a=
n=20
upsurge in popularity, driven by questionably effective, over-the-counter=
=20
preparations of HCG - plus a lot of annoying spam!
Well, 2011 was a year of dramatic news about HCG - some negative, some=20
positive.
In December, both the FDA and the FTC sent warning letters to several=20
manufacturers of over-the-counter HCG weight-loss products, putting them =
on=20
notice that their pellets, liquids and sprays were "fraudulent and illega=
l,"=20
and giving them 15 days to stop selling them (this did not apply to=20
prescription forms of HCG).
GOOD NEWS FOR PATIENTS WITH FIBROMYALGIA OR PAIN
Now for the good news! Earlier in the year, at the 27th annual meeting of=
=20
the American Academy of Pain Medicine, one of the top pain doctors in the=
=20
U.S. presented some super-positive news about HCG. In a small study, HCG=20
injections provided remarkably effective pain relief for patients with=20
fibromyalgia and others who suffered from severe, intractable pain =E2=80=
=94 so=20
severe that they needed the equivalent of 120 mg of morphine a day for pa=
in.
The doctor conducting the study was Forrest Tennant, MD, from the Veract=20
Intractable Pain Clinic (http://www.intractablepaindisease.com/) in West=20
Covina, California. Dr. Tennant specializes in treating pain patients who=
no=20
one else has been able to help. In this case, he was treating people even=
=20
he'd not been able to help much.
"These were not run-of-the-mill patients," he said. "These were 'the=20
severest of the severe,' what we would term as very intractable patients.=
"
Dr. Tennant began his HCG study after learning about a nearby weight-loss=
=20
clinic that used HCG injections as part of its weight-loss program. The=20
clinic had observed that some of its clients who had been plagued by=20
intractable pain were experiencing unexpected relief after receiving the =
HCG=20
injections.
His one-year study included 12 patients who had severe, intractable pain =
for=20
five years or more. Six of them had spinal conditions, and the other six=20
suffered from either fibromyalgia, arthritis or headaches. All of them ha=
d=20
constant pain, including:
* peripheral pain (in the arms, hands, legs or feet) that responded poorl=
y=20
or not at all to local treatments,
* severe insomnia,
* two or more symptoms of a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system, like=20
tremors and colds hand and feet, and
* "presumed abnormal neuroplasticity" (pain so unrelenting that it alters=
=20
nerve cells).
When the study started, all 12 patients were taking long-acting narcotics=
=20
for chronic pain and short-acting narcotics for breakthrough pain. Their=20
"morphine equivalencies" ranged from 500 to 1,500 mg a day - a massive do=
se.
Dr. Tennant gave the patients a challenge dose of 500 to 1,000 units of H=
CG=20
subcutaneously. In just one week, 8 of the 12 patients reported feeling=20
improvement in pain symptoms. For the next year, those 8 patients continu=
ed=20
to receive 1 to 3 HCG injections per week (subcutaneous dosages were=20
1,000-3,000 units per week; HCG shots are easy to self-administer, like=20
insulin). No other changes were made during the patients' therapy.
AND PEOPLE RECEIVED A LOT OF RELIEF
They had fewer flares of severe pain. Seven of the 8 patients cut their u=
se=20
of narcotics by 30-50%. Five of the patients said they experienced some=20
pain-free hours. All the patients reported more energy, better=20
concentration, and less depression. And after the year was up, all of the=
m=20
said they wanted to stay on HCG - which was hardly surprising, given the=20
benefits.
It's important to note that these kinds of positive results are very rare=
in=20
patients with severe, intractable pain. "It's been my experience that sev=
ere=20
intractable pain patients with presumed abnormal neuroplasticity, who are=
=20
being maintained on opioids, seldom report improvement with any non-opioi=
d=20
therapy," said Dr. Tennant. He added that it's uncommon for intractable p=
ain=20
patients to reduce their narcotics while experiencing more pain-free hour=
s.
HOW DOES HCG RELIEVE PAIN?
For now, the mechanisms are theoretical. Perhaps it's by neutralizing the=
=20
opioid-caused suppression of hormones, reversing abnormal neuroplasticity=
,=20
said Dr. Tennant. Perhaps it's because HCG directly strengthens and heals=
=20
nerve and brain cells.
Dr. Tennant has put another 30-40 intractable pain patients on HCG, and s=
ays=20
"we're getting positive results in 85 to 90% of them."
WHAT'S THE FUTURE FOR HCG AS A TREATMENT FOR PAIN?
I don't see HCG injections becoming a first-line treatment. But I think i=
t=20
could be a big leap forward for severe pain patients who don't respond to=
=20
any other treatment - and a way for them to either avoid or reduce the us=
e=20
of narcotics, which can have so many downsides. Frankly, I suspect it has=
=20
fewer side effects and would be lower cost than the 3 FDA approved=20
medications currently available for fibromyalgia. The main down side is t=
hat=20
it is an injection.
What a wonderful, new development in the treatment of chronic pain!
REFERENCES
"Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Pain Treatment," Practical Pain Manageme=
nt=20
(http://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/treatments/hormone-therapy/human-=
chorionic-gonadotropin-pain-treatment)
"Patients With Intractable Pain Report Relief Using HCG," Medscape=20
(http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/739739)=20
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