Abstract
Measurement of muscle (M) and fal (F) tissue surface by MRI was used to study the metabolic effect of GH in children with and without GH deficiency (GHD). 45 prepubertal children with GHD (n = 23), Intrauterine Growth Retardation (n = M) and Turner's (n = 8) were evaluated before, 3, 6 and 12 months after onset of GH treatment (respectively 0.08, 0.23 and 0.11 IU/kg/d). Weight for height was expressed as body mass index (BMI). 7 normal children were followed longitudinally as controls. M and F tissue surface were estimated by MRI of the 2 thighs (one transversal T1 weighted slice, thickness = 8mn, in the middle of the femoral diaphysis). Results were expressed as % change (mean) from baseline values.
During GH treatment, a significant increase of M and decrease of F tissue surfaces were observed leading to a dramatic increase of M/F ratio at each time point. This finding remained highly significant when corrected for the small variation observed in controls. The M surface increment correlated significantly with height velocity (r=0.45 p=0.004). The BMI decreased significantly and was correlated wilh M and F tissue surfaces at each period studied (p=0.0001). In conclusion : In children with and without GHD, GH therapy induces rapid and intense variation of M and F tissue. MRI can be used to study some aspects of the metabolic actions of GH.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leger, J., Garel, C., Legrand, I. et al. METABOLIC EFFECT OF GH ON MUSCLE AND FAT TISSUE IN CHILDREN EVALUATED BY MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI): RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUXOLOGY. Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S58 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00331
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00331