| pubmed-article:10790587 | pubmed:abstractText | Impaired cardiovascular function, which may reduce life expectancy, has recently been demonstrated both in GH deficiency and excess. Moreover, experimental and clinical studies support the evidence implicating GH and/or IGF-I in the regulation of heart development. The existence of a specific acromegalic cardiomyophathy characterized by myocardial hypertrophy with interstitial fibrosis, lympho-mononuclear infiltration and areas of monocyte necrosis which often result in biventricular concentric hypertrophy has been recenty demonstrated. By contrast, patients with childhood or adulthood-onset GH deficiency (GHD) present with abnormalities of structure and function of the left ventricle. In these patients, a significant increase in the vascular intima-media thickness and an increased number of atheromatous plaques have also been reported. The abnormalities of cardiovascular system could be partially reverted by suppressing GH and IGF-I levels in acromegaly or after GH remplacement therapy in GHD patients. The evidence that GH is able to increase cardiac mass suggested its use in the -treatment of chronic heart failure of diverse etiologies. GH administration was -demonstrated to induce an improvement in hemodynamics and clinical status in some patients. Although these data should be confirmed in double-blind placebo controlled studies in larger series, the promising results open new perspectives for GH treatment in humans. | lld:pubmed |
