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Growth and development

Patching up a better pill for GH-deficient women

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 8, pages 197–198 (2012)Cite this article

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Women with hypopituitarism treated with growth hormone (GH) traditionally receive estrogens for sex hormone replacement in tablet form. Oral estrogen therapy robs these patients of the therapeutic benefits of GH; however, the use of transdermal patches circumvents this problem. The wastage of GH therapy is even more pronounced with contraceptive doses of estrogen.

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Figure 1: The effect of route and type of estrogen therapy on the sensitivity of GH therapy in women with hypopituitarism.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Garvan Institute of Medical Research, 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 2010, NSW, Australia

    Vita Birzniece

  2. Centres for Health Research, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, 4102, QLD, Australia

    Ken K. Y. Ho

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  1. Vita Birzniece
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Correspondence to Ken K. Y. Ho.

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Birzniece, V., Ho, K. Patching up a better pill for GH-deficient women. Nat Rev Endocrinol 8, 197–198 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2012.9

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