Abstract
Whether lipolysis is an intrinsic property of the growth hormone (GH) molecule or is due to contaminants of pituitary origin remains controversial. We therefore compared the rise in plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels measured with the Nefa Quick “BMY” kit, Boehringer) induced by either pituitary GH (pit-GH, Nanormon, Nordisk) or biosynthetic GH (syn-GH, Somatonorm, Kabi) in 34 hypopituitary children (age 5-18 years, peak plasma GH < 5 ng/ml after insulin and glucagon tolerance tests). The patients were admitted after an overnight fast and fasted until 1230 hr on both study days. On day 1, no injection was given. On day 2, 0.2 U/kg of either pit-GH (N=5, group A) or syn-GH (N=29, group B) was given IM at 0830 hr. The FFA levels at 1230 hr are expressed as % of the 0830 hr value. In group A, mean (± SEM) plasma FFA levels at 1230 hr were 138.7 ± 9.8 % of the 0830 hr value on day 1 and 233.1 ± 20.0 % on day 2. In group B, they were 130.3 ± 10.9 % and 267 ± 22.6 %. on days 1 and 2, respectively. Thus, both GH preparations induced a rise in plasma FFA levels greater than that induced by fasting alone (p < 0.001) but the two GH preparations were not significantly different from each other (p > 0.2). We conclude that the acute lipolytic effect probably represents an intrinsic property of the GH molecule.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vliet, G., Bosson, D., Craen, M. et al. COMPARISON OF THE LIPOLYTIC POTENCY OF PITUITARY-DERIVED AND BIOSYNTHETIC GROWTH HORMONE IN HYPOPITUITARY CHILDREN. Pediatr Res 20, 1178 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198611000-00029
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198611000-00029
This article is cited by
-
The effect of human growth hormone therapy on skinfold thickness in growth hormone-deficient children
European Journal of Pediatrics (1988)