A Case Report on Intravenous Infusion of Placental Extract in Fibromyalgia Management

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a condition characterized by
chronic widespread pain and fatigue which brings about a serious...


Introduction
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a condition characterized by chronic widespread pain and fatigue which brings about a serious fall of quality of life in patients. Its pathophysiology still remains a mystery. Diverse treatment strategy including pharmacological therapies, non-pharmacological conventional therapies, and complementary and alternative medicine therapies has been used for the management of FMS.Previously, we reported acupuncture point injection of placenta extract (PE) in FMS patients relieved pain, ameliorated sleep disorder, and increased daily productive time [1].Experimental studies on the effect of PE on behavior and physical condition in the animal model showed decrease in symptoms of fatigue and increased resistance to physical stress [2].
PEs were also demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory effects in both animals and humans [3,4]. Numerous reports on intravenous infusions of pharmacological agents and nutrients to FMS patients have presented a substantial pain relief in the patients [5,6]. We describe for the first time the case of intravenous administration of PE to woman who was diagnosed for FMS. This case report deals with improvement of fatigue, pain, and quality of life by the continual systemic administration of PE.

Case Presentation
A 46-year-old female patient was admitted to our clinic because of debilitating chronic pain and fatigue. On admission, she had been reporting pain in various parts of her body for 7 years. She

Result
As a result of medical examination, she was diagnosed with FMS according to the 1990 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria [7]. We administered PE in 5% glucose    After 9 weeks of PE infusion, each value of PCS and MCS was increased to 43 and 50 (Figure 3a & 3b). She reported feeling that she was responding well to the treatment. She experienced herself filled with higher energy than before the treatment. Before discharge, she was satisfied with her progress. However, the abdominal discomfort and dizziness occurred from time to time, not much different from the before treatment.

Discussion
In this case report, we demonstrated the intravenous administration of PE ameliorated pain and health-related quality of life in accordance with refinement of fatigue. Placenta is a storehouse of potent biogenic stimulators and its extracts were verified to contain wide range of peptides, proteins, minerals, amino acids, nucleotides, carbohydrates, and steroid hormones.
Placebo-controlled clinical studies on the human PE demonstrated a considerable improvement of fatigue [10,11]. PE was verified to decrease symptoms of fatigue and increase the resistance to physical stress in animals and humans [2,12]. Besides, we observed the acupuncture point injection of PE ameliorated pain and quality of life in knee arthritis and FMS patients [1,13]. Studies in FMS patients demonstrated that chronic persistent pain, poor sleep quality, depressed mood, anxiety, and combinations of these were associated with fatigue [14,15].
We identified that the symptoms changes of the female patient interrelated with the change in the condition of fatigue. As a continual intravenous infusion of PE was conducted, indexes of fatigue, pain, and quality of life from the FMS patient were shifted from unhealthy to healthy state. The therapeutic effects seen in this trial are commensurate with other modalities considered promising.
We previously confirmed the long-term administration of PE was safe and effective in a complex regional pain syndrome patient [16]. Intravenous infusions of pain-relieving pharmaceuticals have some side effects at doses required for pain control [17]. However, the systemic use of PE was efficacious to control pain and secure not to evoke any adverse effect in this study. Further investigation is needed to evaluate clinical significance of PE infusion therapy to treat FMS.