Ten-year GH replacement increases bone mineral density in hypopituitary patients with adult onset GH deficiency.

• There are few studies that have determined the effects of long-term GH replacement on bone mineral density (BMD) in GH-deficient (GHD) adults. In this study, the effects of 10 years of GH replacement on BMD were assessed in 87 GHD adults using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The results show that GH replacement induced a sustained increase in BMD at all the skeletal sites measured. INTRODUCTION: Little is known of the effect of more than 5 years of GH replacement therapy on bone metabolism in GHD adults. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this prospective, open-label, single-center study, which included 87 consecutive adults (52 men and 35 women; mean age of 44.1 (range 22-74) years) with adulthood onset GHD, the effect of 10 years of GH replacement on BMD was determined. RESULTS: The mean initial dose of GH was 0.98 mg/day. The dose was gradually lowered and after 10 years the mean dose was 0.47 mg/day. The mean insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) SDS increased from 1.81 at baseline to 1.29 at study end. The GH replacement induced a sustained increase in total, lumbar (L2-L4) and femur neck BMD, and bone mineral content (BMC) as measured by DEXA. The treatment response in IGF-I SDS was more marked in men, whereas women had a more marked increase in the total body BMC and the total body z-score. There was a tendency for women on estrogen treatment to have a larger increase in bone mass and density compared with women without estrogen replacement. CONCLUSIONS: Ten years of GH replacement in hypopituitary adults induced a sustained, and in some variables even a progressive, increase in bone mass and bone density. The study results also suggest that adequate estrogen replacement is needed in order to have an optimal response in BMD in GHD women.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Endokrinologi och diabetes (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Endocrinology and Diabetes (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adult

Age of Onset

Aged

Biological Markers

Body Height

drug effects

Body Weight

drug effects

Bone Density

drug effects

Bone Diseases

Metabolic

prevention & control

radiography

Densitometry

X-Ray

Estrogen Replacement Therapy

Female

Growth Hormone

therapeutic use

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Human Growth Hormone

deficiency

Humans

Hypopituitarism

drug therapy

metabolism

radiography

Male

Middle Aged

Prospective Studies

Sex Characteristics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)