Recombinant human growth hormone increases albumin and prolongs survival in patients with chronic liver failure: a pilot open, randomized, and controlled clinical trial.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in the treatment of patients with chronic liver failure.


METHODS
One hundred and fourteen patients with chronic liver failure were randomly divided into two groups: (1) 56 patients in the rhGH treatment group received 4.5IU of rhGH intramuscularly daily for 4 weeks and (2) 58 patients in the control-treatment group. Fifteen healthy subjects served as normal controls. Symptoms and complications were recorded. The prognosis was analysed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The serum GH, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and insulin levels were determined using ELISA.


RESULTS
The efficacy of rhGH treatment was 87.5% (vs. 38.1% in the controls-treatment group, p<0.01). The serum GH, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and insulin levels in patients with chronic liver failure were significantly different than the levels in the normal controls (5.50+/-4.21 vs. 1.57+/-1.27, 80.45+/-69.99 vs. 172.97+/-78.12, 109.93+/-87.53 vs. 373.41+/-119.07, and 31.99+/-49.87 vs. 6.72+/-1.09, respectively, p<0.05-0.001). The serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3, albumin, proalbumin, and cholesterol levels were significantly increased after rhGH treatment; however, the serum GH and insulin levels were decreased. The survival rate of the rhGH treatment and control-treatment groups after 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months of treatment was 98.21% vs.75.86%, 91.07% vs.62.07%, 66.07% vs.22.41%, and 55.36% vs.13.79%, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed that rhGH was an independent factor in predicting the survival of patients after 3 and 6 months of treatment with rhGH.


CONCLUSIONS
rhGH replacement therapy increased albumin and tended to improve survival in adult patients with chronic liver failure.
Li
N
N
Department of GI and Hepatology, Beijing You'an Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, China.
Zhou
L
L
Zhang
B
B
Dong
P
P
Lin
W
W
Wang
H
H
Xu
R
R
Ding
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000418:Albumins / Q000187:drug effects*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002681:China; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000418:Albumins; D015415:Biomarkers; D007328:Insulin; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D002784:Cholesterol