title: Status of long-acting-growth hormone preparations--2015.
abstract: Growth hormone (GH) treatment has been an established therapy for GH deficiency (GHD) in children and adults for more than three decades. Numerous studies have shown that GH treatment improves height, body composition, bone density, cardiovascular risk factors, physical fitness and quality of life and that the treatment has few side effects. Initially GH was given as intramuscular injections three times per week, but daily subcutaneous injections were shown to be more effective and less inconvenient and the daily administration has been used since its introduction in the 1980s. However, despite ongoing improvements in injection device design, daily subcutaneous injections remain inconvenient, painful and distressing for many patients, leading to noncompliance, reduced efficacy and increased health care costs. To address these issues a variety of long-acting formulations of GH have been developed. In this review we present the current status of long-acting GH preparations and discuss the specific issues related to their development.
authors.affiliation: Department of endocrinology, metabolism and diabetology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of molecular medicine and surgery, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: charlotte.hoybye@karolinska.se.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Høybye
authors.affiliation: Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Pinchas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Metabolism, University of Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Neuroendocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Beverly M K
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Biller
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, MEA, Aarhus University Hospital, NBG, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jens Sandahl
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Christiansen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002648:Child; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000172:deficiency / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019382:Human Growth Hormone
keywords: Growth hormone; Growth hormone deficiency; Growth hormone treatment; Long-acting growth hormone preparations