Magnesium, Stress and Fibromyalgia (SeMAFor)

Effect of Magnesium on Stress in Fibromyalgia: Randomized Double-blind Placebo Controlled Trial

Fibromyalgia affects an average of 2% of the French population. Data from the literature report that low levels of magnesium could be associated with fibromyalgia. However, no study to date has investigated the effect of oral magnesium administration on stress in fibromyalgia.

This trial therefore aims to evaluate whether magnesium could improve stress and the various disorders that contribute to the complexity of fibromyalgia, including pain, cognition, sleep disorders and quality of life.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fibromyalgia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: magnesium; Other: placebo

Detailed Description

This is an interventional, randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind study of the use of magnesium in fibromyalgia. The effect of magnesium on stress measured by DASS-42 over 28 days after taking magnesium / placebo will be studied.

The secondary objectives will evaluate the evolution of the scores of all the tests and questionnaires carried out before taking magnesium or placebo (D0: Visit 2), then at D0 + 28 (visit 3) and D0 + 84 days (visit 4 corresponding to the end-of-study visit).

Secondary parameters are the following :

Impact of fibromyalgia, heart rate variability, pain intensity, cognition, feelings of patients, impression of change, sleep quality, fatigue intensity, social vulnerability, catastrophism, presence of small fiber neuropathy, stress induced by colors, pain induced by thermal stimulation, concentration of magnesium, analysis of microbiota and evaluation of genetic factor.

Blood magnesium and magnesuria will be measured.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 75
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Clermont-Ferrand, France, 63003
    • CHU Clermont-Ferrand

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient over the age of 18,
• Patient with fibromyalgia according to the criteria of the 2016 ACR,
• Patient presenting a score on the DASS-42 > 18 scale,
• Patient free from any initiation of new treatment or diet at the time of inclusion,
• Cooperation and understanding sufficient to comply with the requirements of the study,
• Acceptance to give written consent,
• Affiliation to the French Social Security system,
• Registration or acceptance of registration in the National Register of Volunteers participating in research.

Exclusion Criteria:

• having a contraindication to the administration of magnesium: hypersensitivity to magnesium chloride, or to any of the excipients,
• with a magnesium concentration of > 1.05 mmol / l,- with severe renal impairment with a creatinine clearance < 30 ml / min,
• receiving a treatment or dietary supplement containing magnesium at the time of inclusion,
• treated with antibiotics in the three months prior to inclusion,- who has reported gastroenteritis in the two months prior to inclusion,
• physically unfit to place the palms or soles of the feet on the Sudoscan® electrodes,
• having a medical and / or surgical history judged by the investigator or his representative to be incompatible with the test (in particular a disease known to cause small fiber neuropathies: diabetes, Sjögren's disease, vasculitis, sarcoidosis, chronic ethylism ....),
• using anticoagulant therapy or allergy to local anesthetics,- of childbearing age not using an effective contraceptive method, pregnant or breastfeeding woman.
• participating in another clinical trial, or being in the exclusion period, or having received a total amount of benefits exceeding EUR 4500 over the 12 months preceding the start of the trial,
• having cooperation and understanding that does not allow strict compliance with the conditions laid down in the Protocol,
• benefiting from a measure of legal protection (guardianship, guardianship, deprivation of liberty, safeguard of justice),
• not affiliated to the French Social Security system.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: MAGNESIUM; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan	Other: magnesium; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan; Other: placebo; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan
Experimental: PLACEBO; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan	Other: magnesium; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan; Other: placebo; Fibromyalgia patients taking either magnesium or placebo according to the randomized plan

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measure of stress with DASS-42	Measure of stress with stress subscale in magnesium and placebo group. This subscale consists of 14 questions of self-evaluation	at day 0

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Evaluation of the impact of fibromyalgia using the FIQ questionnaire	The revised FIQ questionnaire is a 10-item self-questionnaire that assesses the impact of fibromyalgia	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Detection of fibromyalgia using the FIRST questionnaire	The FIRST questionnaire is a 6-item self-questionnaire that detects fibromyalgia.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of stress by the heart rate variability	Heart rate variability (HRV / HRV) is a measure of changes in heart rate that will provide an estimate of stress. It is usually calculated by analyzing time series of beat-by-beat intervals of the ECG or blood pressure plots.	Day0-7; Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Assessment Using Numerical Scale (EN)	This scale allows the patient to note the pain on a graduation whose minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 10.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Concise Pain Questionnaire (QCD)	This self-assessment scale allows the patient to characterize the pain in relation to its psychosocial intensity and impact. The patient is asked to answer 9 graduated questions by circling a number from 0 (no pain) to 10 (the most horrible pain you can imagine).	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the impact on cognition by the Trail Making Test A and B (TMT A and B) and the Cantab® test	The Trail Making Test (TMT) is recognized as one of the most frequently used neuropsychological tests in clinical practice alternating numbers and letters (1-A-2-B-3- C, etc.). The Cantab® is a comprehension test, executive functions, memory, attention and decision-making.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the impact on cognition by the Trail Making Test A and B (TMT A and B)	The Trail Making Test (TMT) is recognized as one of the most frequently used neuropsychological tests in clinical practice alternating numbers and letters (1-A-2-B-3- C, etc.).	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Cantab® test	The Cantab® is a comprehension test, executive functions, memory, attention and decision-making.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the emotions by visualization of images and scale evaluating the feelings of the patients	The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is a library of 1200 standardized images that can induce an emotional reaction, constituting as many emotional stimuli (positive or negative) or not (neutral).	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the overall impression of change by the Patient Global Impression of Change Questionnaire (PGIC)	The Global Impression of Change Patient is a scale of global perception of change ("deterioration" or "improvement") completed by the patient. This scale is graduated from 1 = much better to 7 = significantly worse	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the impact on the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)	The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index is a self-administered questionnaire with 19 items. It has been developed to measure the quality of sleep in the month preceding the interview with the patient. This questionnaire has 7 components: subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, usual sleep efficiency, sleep disorders, use of a sleep medication, and poor daytime fitness	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the intensity of fatigue by the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)	The fatigue severity scale is a 9-item self-questionnaire to assess the patient's fatigue intensity. The patient is asked to circle a number from 1 to 7 for each question, a low value representing a low intensity	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Social Vulnerability Assessment (EPICES)	The EPICES questionnaire is composed of 11 binary questions (yes / no) allowing to calculate an individual score indicating the precariousness and inequalities of health ranging from 0 to 100.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of catastrophism by the PCS (Pain Catastrophizing Scale) scale	Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) is a questionnaire in which the patient is asked to describe the kind of thought and emotions they feel during pain. This questionnaire consists of 13 items describing different thoughts or emotions that may be associated with the pain. The patient will have to indicate how much he has these thoughts or emotions when he feels pain by giving a score between 0 and 4, 0: not at all, 4: all the time. The final score is the sum of the scores for each question.	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Quality of life (Short Form 12 items Short Form survey)	assessed by a quality of life questionnaire (Short Form 12 items Short Form survey (SF12)	Day0; Day0+28; Day0+84
Evaluation of the presence of small fiber neuropathy (Sudoscan® )	Sudoscan® (Impeto Medical, Paris, France) is a new device that provides a rapid, non-invasive and reproducible quantitative assessment of sweat function.	AT Day0; Day0+28
Evaluation of the presence of small fiber neuropathy (skin biopsy)	A skin biopsy will be realized for histological analysis to determine the presence of small fiber neuropathy.	at Day0
plasma magnesium dosage	The intracellular magnesium concentrations will be determined by the blood samples taken at the inclusion visit, at the end of the treatment on visit 3 (D0 + 28) and on visit 4 (D0 + 84).	D0; D0+28; D0+84
erythrocyte magnesium dosage	The erythrocyte magnesium concentrations will be determined by the blood samples taken at the inclusion visit, at the end of the treatment on visit 3 (D0 + 28) and on visit 4 (D0 + 84).	D0; D0+28; D0+84
urinary magnesium dosage	The urinary concentration of magnesium will be determined by the urine collected for 24 hours, the day before visits 3 and 4.	D0; D0+28; D0+84
urinary magnesium dosage	The urinary concentration of magnesium will be determined by the urine collected for 24 hours, the day before visits 3 and 4.	D0+28; D0+84
creatinine dosage	The creatinine concentrations will be determined by the blood samples taken at the inclusion visit.	D0-7
Analysis of the microbiota (stool samples)	Analysis of the microbiota: the patient must carry out the collection at her home maximum 24 hours before the visit 2 by following the technical instructions described in the explanatory note that will be provided. She will then ensure that the stool preservation and transport procedure described in this document is followed.	24 hours before the visit 2
Evaluation of genetic polymorphism using OpenArray technology	Identification of genes involved	Day0-7
Evaluation of stress response during visual stimulation	Stress intensity will be assessed by the numerical stress rating scale: the scale ranges from 0 "no stress" to 10 "maximal stress" following different visual stimulation induced by different colors during the anticipatory phase of pain.	Day0; Day0+28
Evaluation of pain response during thermal stimulation	Pain intensity will be assessed by the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS): the scale ranges from 0 "no pain" to 10 "maximal tolerable pain" following different thermal stimulations (using Pathway Medoc®).	Day0; Day0+28
Evaluation of electromyography (EMG) of median nerve	EMG motor and sensitive of the median nerve on both arm to control the speed of electrical conduction. For this purpose, we will measure the amplitude, latency and speed for the motor test, and the amplitude and speed for the sensitivity test.	day 0

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand
• Collaborators: CIC Inserm 1405, University Hospital Clermont-Ferrand, France
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gisèle PICKERING, University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Macian N, Duale C, Voute M, Leray V, Courrent M, Bode P, Giron F, Sonneville S, Bernard L, Joanny F, Menard K, Ducheix G, Pereira B, Pickering G. Short-Term Magnesium Therapy Alleviates Moderate Stress in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial. Nutrients. 2022 May 17;14(10):2088. doi: 10.3390/nu14102088.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 28, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 12, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): May 12, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): March 22, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 3, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Stress; Sleep disorders; Fibromyalgia; Magnesium
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neuromuscular Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Fibromyalgia; Sleep Wake Disorders; Inorganic Chemicals; Elements; Metals, Light; Metals; Metals, Alkaline Earth; Magnesium
• Other Study ID Numbers: CHU-429; 2018-A02059-46 (Other Identifier: 2018-A02059-46)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No