Thyrotropin-releasing hormone can relieve cancer-related fatigue: hypothesis and preliminary observations.

Autor: Kamath J; Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA. jkamath@uchc.edu, Yarbrough GG, Prange AJ Jr, Winokur A
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Journal of international medical research [J Int Med Res] 2009 Jul-Aug; Vol. 37 (4), pp. 1152-7.
DOI: 10.1177/147323000903700420
Abstrakt: Fatigue in cancer patients is highly prevalent, predominantly idiopathic, difficult to manage, and has a significant negative impact on quality of life. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) exerts normotrophic, state-dependent therapeutic effects in a variety of experimental and clinical situations. To evaluate TRH as a treatment for cancer-related fatigue, an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study of breast cancer patients has been initiated and this report presents preliminary observations conducted with three of these patients over 4 consecutive weeks, thereby involving a total of six TRH treatments and six saline controls. Global assessment using both subjective and objective parameters showed that TRH exerted clear anti-fatigue effects in four of the six TRH treatments. These responses were rapid in onset and persisted through the 24 h observation period. No anti-fatigue responses were seen in five of the six saline controls. No unexpected side-effects were seen with TRH administration. These initial findings support the proposal that TRH can ameliorate cancer-related fatigue.
Databáze: MEDLINE