[Still no indications that the treatment of growth hormone deficient adults with growth hormones is unsafe].
Although more than 100,000 patients worldwide are estimated to have received growth-hormone treatment, there are still widespread doubts about the safety aspects of growth-hormone treatment of adults with growth-hormone deficiency (GHD). The available data are scarce and the follow-up time is short. The data do not suggest that growth-hormone treatment increases the incidence or regrowth of pituitary adenomas in adults with GHD. Equally there are no data which suggest that growth-hormone treatment of adults with GHD increases the incidence of cancer, provided that concentrations of the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) achieved in the blood remain within the normal range for the age of that patient. No increase in diabetes mellitus has been reported following the introduction of growth-hormone treatment in adult GHD patients. Insulin sensitivity does not appear to change in GHD patients on growth-hormone treatment as long as relatively low physiological doses of growth hormone are used. Whether growth-hormone therapy in adult patients with GHD will prove safe in the long term remains to be established.
Erasmus Medisch Centrum, afd. Inwendige Geneeskunde, sectie Endocrinologie, Dr.Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam. j.a.m.j.l.janssen@erasmusmc.nl
J A M J L
JA
Janssen
W E
WE
Visser
A J
AJ
van der Lely
D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency*; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000188:drug therapy; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010900:Pituitary Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012449:Safety; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone