Growth hormone (GH) has many beneficial effects in patients with childhood-onset GH deficiency (GHD) in addition to its promotion of linear growth. The discontinuation of GH treatment in GHD patients, during the transition from childhood to adulthood, induces significant unfavorable changes in body composition, skeletal integrity, exercise capacity, and an adverse cardiovascular risk profile. These changes are reversed after the resumption of GH treatment. As the benefits of continuing GH therapy into adulthood has been well established, it is possible […]

Sheehan’s syndrome is characterized by hypopituitarism that occurs as a result of ischemic pituitary necrosis due to severe postpartum hemorrhage. Nowadays it is not usually seen in developed countries because of the improvements in obstetric care. However, in developing countries it is still frequent and probably one of the most common causes of hypopituitarism. Most patients usually present it months to years later, with a history of failure of postpartum lactation, failure to resume menses and other signs of panhypopituitarism. […]

Growth disorders are commonly observed in children suffering from chronic diseases. The pathogenesis of growth failure is multifactorial. In chronic inflammatory diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, growth is also affected by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Patients with chronic diseases might also become growth hormone (GH) deficient. However, normal or increased GH secretion with reduced plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I indicate a degree of GH insensitivity in some patients. Growth damage can increase with specific treatments, especially […]

The aim of this study was to compare two preparations of recombinant human GH (rGH) in the treatment of GH deficient patients. Ten prepubertal GH-deficient children were followed during 6 months. They received injections with syringe for 3 months, followed by pen administration for the subsequent 3 months. Acceptability was evaluated through a questionnaire. Waste of medication was calculated by the difference between the number of used bottles or refills and the calculated amount for the period. Treatment response was […]

Growth hormone quantification in serum is essential for confirming or ruling out its excess. The absence of clinical criteria sufficiently sensitive to evaluate the treatment success enables GH as the key diagnostic procedure and for that, its measurements must be done in a reliable way and must allow uniform interpretation. Several different biochemical criteria for remission have been suggested in the past, including a random GH measurement less than 2.5 µg/l, mean GH value from a day curve less than […]

We describe a patient with macroprolactinoma and discrepant insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) concentration (elevated) and growth hormone (GH) values during a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (normal), that were measured to evaluate the co-secretion of GH by tumor. With the bromocriptin use, the patient achieved normalization of prolactin, but persisted with high levels of IGF1, suggesting to be subclinical acromegaly. After the development of new more sensitive GH assays, cases of discrepant GH and IGF-1 results have been observed […]

AIM: The focus of this study was to evaluate the metabolic profile of Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) patients treated with growth hormone. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seven patients (four boys and three girls) with ages between six years and six months and 14 years and 11 months were treated with GH 0.1 U/kg/day subcutaneous by six times a week, for two years. Anthropometric data, lipids, glucose, IGF-I and body composition were evaluated at baseline and after 12 and 24 months. RESULTS: IGF-I […]

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the results of transsphenoidal surgery in a group of patients with acromegaly who were operated by the same neurosurgeon. Our results were compared to those from a cumulative meta-analysis of 10 series (1,632 patients) published between 1992

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of GH on body weight, body composition and cardiovascular risk factors in android obese men. Forty non-diabetic subjects aged 20 to 50 years-old with android obesity (WHR > 1) were divided in two groups, on a prospective randomized double-blind basis to receive treatment with GH (0.050 U/kg/day) or placebo for three months. Bioimpedance analysis, DEXA, indirect calorimetry and cardiovascular risk factors were done at the beginning and at the end […]

AIM: To analyze the changes in IGF-1, IGFBP-3, leptin and insulin after replacement doses of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in short prepubertal children with chronic renal failure (CRF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eleven children (3F:8M), with mean age of 9.6 years, were treated with rhGH (0.23 mg/Kg weekly for 12 months). Serum leptin, insulin, glucose, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured before, 6 and 12 months after beginning rhGH treatment. RESULTS: The serum levels of leptin, insulin and glucose did not […]

Evidence from in vitro and animal studies suggests that members of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) system, including IGF-I, IGF-II, the IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR), and the IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) play a central role in the development and progression of cancer. More specifically, IGFs may promote cell cycle progression and inhibition of apoptosis either by directly associating with other growth factors or indirectly by interacting with other molecular systems, which have an established role in carcinogenesis and cancer promotion. In addition, […]

Clonidine stimulation test is widely used to evaluate growth hormone secretion. Side effects are somnolence (35%) and arterial hypotension (AH) (5%). The aims of this paper were to evaluate the tolerance to this test regarding blood pressure (BP) decrease, sedation and the efficacy of saline resuscitation to prevent AH. BP was measured at basal, 60 and 120 min. Sedation was determined by the Ramsay scale. Patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n= 80) received saline resuscitation only upon […]