Korean J Med.  2005 May;68(5):519-527.

The effects of growth hormone administration on the markers of cardiovascular disease in growth hormone deficient adults

• Choi HS
• Kim SS
• Ko KJ
• Lee EJ
• Park IW
• Park TW
• Han SG
• Woo ML
• Cho JH
• Hong SI
• Kim HJ
• Cha BS
• Won YJ
• Lee HC

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Subjects with growth hormone-deficiency (GHD) have increased cardiovascular mortality, and growth hormone (GH) replacement may modulate cardiovascular disease risk. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of GH administration on the markers of cardiovascular disease in subjects with GHD.
METHODS
37 subjects (12 men and 25 women) with GHD and 65 normal subjects were enrolled in this study. GH or placebo were given for 3 months at a dose adjusted for normal serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) level. Height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, lean body mass, fat mass, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, IGF-I, lipid profile, uric acid, C-reactive protein (CRP), plaminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), apolipoprotein AI, and quality of life-assessment of growth hormone deficiency in adults (QoL-AGHDA) were measured at baseline and month 3.
RESULTS
Subjects with GHD showed higher levels of triglyceride, CRP, and PAI-1, but lower level of fasting glucose than normal subjects. Fat mass, CRP, and PAI-1 levels decreased in GH recipients (fat mass; 21.9+/-6.6 to 21.3+/-6.7%, p<0.05, CRP; 2.73+/-2.11 to 1.47+/-1.29 mg/L, p<0.001, PAI-1; 48.9+/-33.2 to 31.6+/-28.5 ng/mL, p<0.05). Fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol levels increased in GH recipients (fasting blood glucose; 4.58+/-0.46 to 4.81+/-0.36 mmol/L, p<0.05, total cholesterol; 5.36+/-1.31 to 6.17+/-1.12 mmol/L, p<0.01). Placebo recipients showed decrease in waist-hip ratio (0.93+/-0.05 to 0.92+/-0.04, p<0.05) and increase in fasting blood glucsoe (4.63+/-0.38 to 4.89+/-0.45 mmol/L, p<0.05) and uric acid (319.6+/-89.2 to 335.6+/-89.2 micro mol/L, p<0.05). QoL-AGHDA score improved in both groups (GH recipients; 10.0+/-6.0 to 7.4+/-5.5, p<0.01, placebo recipients; 9.8+/-4.4 to 6.7+/-3.4, p<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Our results demonstrated favourable effects of GH on cardiovascular disease through modulating CRP and PAI-1 plasma level in subjects with GHD.

Keyword

Growth hormone deficiency; Cardiovascular disease; C-reactive protein; Plasminogen activiator inhibitor-1

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Apolipoprotein A-I
Blood Glucose
Blood Pressure
C-Reactive Protein
Cardiovascular Diseases*
Cholesterol
Fasting
Glucose
Growth Hormone*
Hip
Humans
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Male
Mortality
Plasma
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1
Triglycerides
Uric Acid
Waist Circumference
Waist-Hip Ratio
Apolipoprotein A-I
Blood Glucose
C-Reactive Protein
Cholesterol
Glucose
Growth Hormone
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1
Uric Acid