Circulating asymmetric dimethylarginine and lipid profile in pre-pubertal children with growth hormone deficiency: effect of 12-month growth hormone replacement therapy.
OBJECTIVE
Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in adults is associated with cardiovascular complications, which lead to reduced life expectancy. At present, data on cardiovascular risk factors in GHD children are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether pre-pubertal GHD children have increased cardiovascular risk factors, and whether 12-month growth hormone (GH) treatment can reverse them.


DESIGN
Twenty pre-pubertal GHD children (6 boys, mean (±SD) age: 9.5±1.8 years) were matched for sex and age with 20 healthy controls (6 boys, mean (±SD) age: 8.8±1.5 years). Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), lipid profile, glucose metabolism parameters, IGF-1, blood pressure and anthropometric parameters were assessed at baseline and after 12 months of GH treatment.


RESULTS
At baseline, GHD patients showed significantly higher ADMA levels (median [interquartile range]: 78.5 [69.6-123.5] vs 54.0 [38.3-60.8] ng/ml, p<0.001), total cholesterol (mean±SD: 177.5±30.4 vs 150.1±21.4 mg/dl; p=0.004) and LDL-cholesterol (mean±SD: 111.2±22.2 vs 84.9±15.9 mg/dl; p<0.001) than controls. After 12-month GH treatment, ADMA (median [interquartile range]: 55.4 [51.2-73.8] ng/ml), total cholesterol (mean±SD: 155.6±43.2 mg/dl), and LDL-cholesterol (mean±SD: 95.4±32.1 mg/dl) significantly decreased in GHD children, reaching values comparable to those in controls.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that, as in adults, pre-pubertal GHD children manifest increased cardiovascular risk markers and that 12-month GH treatment can improve them.
['De Marco|S|S|', 'Marcovecchio|M L|ML|', 'Caniglia|D|D|', 'De Leonibus|C|C|', 'Chiarelli|F|F|', 'Mohn|A|A|']
D001120:Arginine D001786:Blood Glucose D016022:Case-Control Studies D002648:Child D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D006130:Growth Disorders D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy D019382:Human Growth Hormone D006801:Humans D007333:Insulin Resistance D050356:Lipid Metabolism D008055:Lipids D008297:Male D011627:Puberty D013997:Time Factors
Lipids Children Growth hormone deficiency Cardiovascular risk ADMA