Abstract

LANES, Roberto. Metabolic Abnormalities in growth hormone deficiency. Rev. argent. endocrinol. metab. [online]. 2008, vol.45, n.5, pp.214-223. ISSN 1851-3034.

Increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has been reported in adult subjects with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Long term follow up of a large cohort of patients with adult onset GHD, suggests that GH therapy may contribute to a reduced risk of nonfatal stroke, particularly in women and in a decline in nonfatal cardiac events in GHD men^(1,2). Adult hypopituitary patients with untreated growth hormone deficiency have been shown to have a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors such as increased visceral adiposity, disturbances in lipoprotein metabolism, premature atherosclerosis, impaired fibrinolytic activity, increased peripheral insulin resistance, abnormal cardiac structure, impaired cardiac performance and endothelial dysfunction ^(3,4). Several of these risk factors have now been confirmed in double blind, randomized, placebo controlled trials ^(5,6). Metabolic changes in GH deficient children and adolescents have been evaluated only quite recently and superficially. In this article we will discuss these metabolic abnormalities and their underlying mechanism in untreated GHD subjects and we will review the beneficial effect of growth hormone therapy in adults, adolescents and children with GHD.

Keywords : Growth hormone deficiency; Metabolic abnormalities; Visceral adiposity; Lipoprotein abnormalities; Intima-media thickness and vascular reactivity; Cardiac mass and function.

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