title: Acromegaly induced by growth hormone replacement therapy.
abstract: Recombinant human growth hormone (GH) has been shown to be efficacious and safe in the treatment of various growth disorders and GH deficiency. We here report a 61-year-old man with idiopathic hypopituitarism in whom clinically active acromegaly developed. Complete GH deficiency had been diagnosed earlier by arginine stimulation testing, and therapy with recombinant human GH (maintenance dose 2 IU/day) was implemented at the age of 54 years. At presentation, the patient's insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1; 439 ng/ml) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (4.3 mg/l) levels were highly elevated. Endogenous GH production and pituitary adenoma were excluded. Retrospectively, IGF-1 levels up to 621 ng/ml had been documented (but not appreciated) in the preceding 7 years. Upon GH dose reduction, the IGF-1 serum levels returned to normal, and the patient's clinical status stabilized. No GH receptor polymorphisms were identified in the patient's genomic DNA. This observation demonstrates that the indiscriminate use of recombinant GH bears the risk of active acromegaly, emphasizing the need for long-term patient monitoring programs as integral part of GH therapy.
authors.affiliation: University Children's Hospital, University of Ulm, Prittwitzstrasse 43, DE-89075 Ulm, Germany. beate.karges@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karges
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pfäffle
authors.forename: Bernhard O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Boehm
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Karges
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000139:chemically induced*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I