title: Deterrents to the successful clinical use of growth factors that enhance protein anabolism.
abstract: Participants in competitive sports have demonstrated that the use of growth factors and other anabolic agents enhance human performance, yet physicians are slow to adopt this approach in patients who have a disease-related decrease in strength and activity. Growth factors should be thought of as the next major step forward in providing more efficient and effective nutritional support to catabolic or wasted patients. The obstacles to the use of these agents include: the lack of convincing clinical studies; concerns with safety; anabolic effects and the patient's nutritional status; interaction with diet and route of nutrient administration; the training of health professionals to administer growth factors; and cost. The benefits from these agents should be directly translated into improved patient outcome. To achieve this goal, a uniquely educated group of investigators, working with sophisticated representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, must emerge to construct appropriate protocols and determine desirable endpoints to evaluate the true societal benefits of these agents.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wilmore
mesh_terms: D045930:Anabolic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004032:Diet; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013178:Sports Medicine; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D045930:Anabolic Agents; D006133:Growth Substances; D011506:Proteins