[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.
Janssen
J A M J L
JA
Erasmus Medisch Centrum, afd. Inwendige Geneeskunde, sectie Endocrinologie, Dr.Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam. j.a.m.j.l.janssen@erasmusmc.nl
Visser
W E
WE
van der Lely
A J
AJ
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