Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Foreword
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Diagnostic and Clinical aspects
- Part III Growth hormone replacement therapy in adults with growth hormone deficiency
- 8 The effect of growth hormone on protein metabolism
- 9 Growth hormone deficiency, insulin resistance and glucose metabolism
- 10 Growth hormone and body composition
- 11 Effects of growth hormone on human fluid homeostasis
- 12 Growth hormone and cardiac function
- 13 Growth hormone and cardiovascular risk factors
- 14 Growth hormone (GH), exercise performance, muscle strength and sweat production in healthy subjects and in adults with GH deficiency
- 15 Growth hormone and bone and mineral metabolism
- 16 Growth hormone and thyroid function and energy expenditure
- 17 Growth hormone and psychosocial and central nervous effects
- 18 Impact of gender and age on growth hormone responsiveness
- Part IV Growth hormone, growth-hormone releasing peptides and ageing
- Index
10 - Growth hormone and body composition
from Part III - Growth hormone replacement therapy in adults with growth hormone deficiency
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Foreword
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Diagnostic and Clinical aspects
- Part III Growth hormone replacement therapy in adults with growth hormone deficiency
- 8 The effect of growth hormone on protein metabolism
- 9 Growth hormone deficiency, insulin resistance and glucose metabolism
- 10 Growth hormone and body composition
- 11 Effects of growth hormone on human fluid homeostasis
- 12 Growth hormone and cardiac function
- 13 Growth hormone and cardiovascular risk factors
- 14 Growth hormone (GH), exercise performance, muscle strength and sweat production in healthy subjects and in adults with GH deficiency
- 15 Growth hormone and bone and mineral metabolism
- 16 Growth hormone and thyroid function and energy expenditure
- 17 Growth hormone and psychosocial and central nervous effects
- 18 Impact of gender and age on growth hormone responsiveness
- Part IV Growth hormone, growth-hormone releasing peptides and ageing
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The anabolic and lipolytic effects of growth hormone (GH) and thereby the effects upon muscle and fat tissue have been known for many years. Already in 1934, increased muscle mass and reduced body fat was reported in rats after administration of anterior pituitary extracts (Lee & Shaffer, 1934). In children, where GH replacement therapy was introduced in 1957, it was soon observed that GH administration not only affected skeletal growth, but also significantly changed body composition (Tanner & Whitehouse, 1967). In GH-deficient adults the first controlled clinical trials on the effect of GH treatment also reported profound effects on muscle and fat mass (Jørgensen et al., 1989; Salomon et al., 1989). The subsequent – and still ongoing – discussions about whether or not GH-deficient adults should be offered GH replacement therapy have to some extent focused on the beneficial effects on body composition. It has been argued that many of the beneficial effects reported after GH replacement therapy in adults are ‘cosmetic’ and do not justify that this expensive treatment should be offered on a routine basis. The effects on body composition should, however, not be seen as an isolated phenomenon, but rather as the integrated results of the well documented metabolic actions of GH – described elsewhere in this volume. Furthermore, there exists a rather complex relationship between ageing, body composition and GH secretion, which is important to take into consideration in the diagnostic process in elderly patients suspected for GH deficiency (GHD).
Assessing and monitoring body composition, therefore, has become an important clinical tool in the management of adult GHD.
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- Growth Hormone in AdultsPhysiological and Clinical Aspects, pp. 222 - 232Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2000
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