Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of adipose tissue and muscle tissue mass in children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency, Turner's syndrome, and intrauterine growth retardation during the first year of treatment with GH.

Abstract

Measurement of muscle and fat tissue mass by magnetic resonance imaging of the thighs was used to study the metabolic effect of human (h) GH in 23 GH deficiency, 8 Turner's syndrome, and 14 intrauterine growth retardation prepubertal patients. They were evaluated before and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the onset of hGH treatment. Seven normal children were followed longitudinally as controls. During hGH treatment, a significant increase in muscle tissue and decrease in adipose tissue cross-sectional areas was observed, leading to a dramatic increase in the muscle/adipose tissue cross-sectional area ratio in each period studied. These findings remained highly significant when corrected for the small variation observed in controls. The body mass index was correlated with muscle and adipose tissue cross-sectional area at each time point (P < 0.0001). The muscle cross-sectional area increment correlated with the first year height velocity (P < 0.01). This study indicates that in children with and without GH deficiency, hGH therapy induces rapid and intense variation of muscle and adipose tissue mass, and that magnetic resonance imaging can be used to study some aspects of the metabolic actions of GH.

Epidemiological, endocrine and metabolic features in Turner syndrome

“…Treatment with GH has seemingly beneficial effects on body composition with increases in muscle mass and decreasing amounts of body fat, as seen during 1 year of treatment and as studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thigh in girls with Turner syndrome (225). Likewise, we found that the FFM increased as determined by DEXA scans during shortterm treatment (2 months) with GH.…”

Body composition is distinctly altered in Turner syndrome: relations to glucose metabolism, circulating adipokines, and endothelial adhesion molecules

“…In fact, the universal reductions of several axes may synergize to form a vicious cycle further perturbing body composition, and suggest that only proper supplementation of not only estradiol (and progesterone), but also testosterone and GH/IGF-I may normalize the hormonal milieu, and thereby body composition. GH treatment in TS girls leads to robust increases in muscle mass and normalizes the amount of body fat (6,37). The distribution of fat and muscle was also discordant with accumulation of both the trunk (a mixture of subcontaneous and visceral FM) and visceral FM determined by DEXA.…”

Growth Hormone Treatment of Short Children Born Small for Gestational Age

“…The acceleration of linear growth and weight gain appeared to be well balanced as GH treatment did not alter Body Mass Index SDS in any of the treatment groups. GH-induced weight increments are thought to be preferentially directed towards bone and muscle rather than to adipose tissue (17).…”