title: Essential roles of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the liver.
abstract: Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) play essential roles in growth in childhood, and continue to have important metabolic actions in adults.  Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is characterized by increased visceral adiposity, abnormal lipid profiles, premature atherosclerosis, decreased quality of life, and increased mortality.  Recently, case reports and several clinical studies suggest that GHD state in adults is associated with an increased prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or liver cirrhosis.  As a mechanistic insight, growing evidence has revealed that GH as well as IGF-I play essential roles in the liver.  Further investigation is necessary to clarify the precise mechanisms by which GH and IGF-I exert their effects in the liver; however, it should be noted that NAFLD/NASH has emerged as an important comorbidity in AGHD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe 650-0017, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000503:physiopathology; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I