Therapeutic potential of insulinlike growth factor i.
Human recombinant insulinlike growth factor I is a promising therapeutic agent for diseases characterized by relative insulin resistance, e.g., diabetes mellitus, obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia, since it suppresses growth hormone, insulin, C-peptide, and triglyceride levels and lowers the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio. Moreover, insulinlike growth factor administration increases kidney function in healthy subjects (glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow) and may prove useful in the treatment of degenerative disorders of cartilage and bone (arthrosis, osteoporosis) as well as in catabolic states.
Froesch
E R
ER
Metabolic Unit, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Zürich, CH-98901 Zürich, Switzerland.
Guler
H P
HP
Schmid
C
C
Binz
K
K
Zapf
J
J