Stress and chronic pain: An endocrine perspective

Chronic stress, understood as a disturbance of the body homeostasis, is partially driven by many hormonal pathways. Prolactine, TSH (Thyrotropin), vasopresin, FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone), LH (Luteinizing Hormone), and GH (Growth Hormone) have been involved in many stress reactions. In acute stress, there are many evidences for the increased both cathecolaminergic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In chronic conditions, these hyperactivations are controversial and some cases may present a true hypoadrenalism. There is no evidence that treating such androgen/glucocorticoids deficiency may relief chronic pain processes such as fibromyalgia. However, treating somatotroph axis dysfunctions (somatostatin, GH/IGF1 [growth hormone/ insulin-like growth factor-1]) with recombinant GH in carefully seleccioned subgroups of fibromyalgic syndrome, offers us an in-vivo model of the capacity of some hormones to modulate pain. (C) 2009 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.