Retrospective analysis of the effects of low-dose, high frequency human growth hormone on serum lipids and prostate specific antigen

Background. Elevated serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TG) ar e risk factors for atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is associated with elevated TC and TG. Many trea tment protocols for AGHD use relatively high doses of growth hormone (GH) g iven at low frequency, which is associated with increased incidences of ede ma, joint pains, and carpal tunnel syndrome. We have treated > 2200 patient s using a low-dose high frequency (LDHF) dosing regimen of GH which results in similar beneficial subjective responses, and fewer of the side-effects associated with the higher-dosage treatment at a substantial cost savings. Clinically, in addition to increased insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), we observed lower TG and TC levels and no elevation of prostate specific an tigen levels in treated patients. Methods. A retrospective analysis of IGF-I, TG, TC, and PSA data from our p atient population was performed to test our hypothesis that positive object ive responses of IGF-I, TG, and TC occur and that elevation of PSA does not occur in response to LURE dosing regimen of GH. The mean duration of treat ment of the analyzed data ranged from 181 to 259 days. Results. The mean plasma IGF-I level rose significantly (p < .00001) to a l evel 37% greater than baseline with treatment. TC and TG decreased signific antly (p < .001) in those patients with elevated baseline values, and did n ot change significantly in those with normal baseline values. PSA concentra tions decreased non-significantly during treatment, and few cases of edema, joint pain, or carpal tunnel were reported. Conclusions. Treatment of AGHD using the LDHF dosing regimen of GH resulted in significant increases in IGF-I, significant reductions in TC and TG lev els in patients with elevated baseline values, no increase in PSA concentra tions, and fewer side effects than other dosing regimens.