title: Growth hormone replacement does not improve psychological well-being in adult hypopituitarism: a randomized crossover trial.
abstract: In order to examine the effect of growth hormone (GH) on psychological parameters in adult hypopituitarism, 20 adults were studied, mean age 47 years (range 20-69) with hypopituitarism and confirmed GH deficiency (GH < 3 micrograms/l following clonidine 0.15 mg/m2). Subjects were randomly allocated to either GH-up to 0.25 U/kg per week in daily doses) or placebo for 3 months before crossover to the opposite treatment arm. Psychological parameters were assessed by self-reported questionnaires (Disease Specific Questionnaire (DSQ), the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS)) at baseline and monthly intervals to the end of the trial. Both SAS and SCL-90 total scores showed a significant decline with respect to time (p = .03 and .013 respectively), although this was not a function of active treatment. DSQ showed a trend to decline (p = .06), but no effect of active treatment. None of the subscale components of the SCL-90 showed any significant change on active treatment. Improvement in psychological parameters occurs as a function of enrolment to a clinical trial, rather than active GH replacement in adult hypopituitarism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Florkowski
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Espiner
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Donald
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone