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Growth hormone and the maintenance of adult bone mineral density
Author(s) -
Inzucchi S. E.,
Robbins R. J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2265.1996.8750885.x
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , bone mineral , anabolism , osteoporosis , hormone , growth hormone , bone remodeling , biology , bone density
Growth hormone serves many important functions in man. It influences carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism, regulates the secretion and action of a variety of other hormones, and interacts with the immune system. Its most studied role, however, as its name implies, is the orchestration of longitudinal growth, which occurs predominantly at the epiphyseal plate. Here, GH acts both directly and indirectly, through the systemic and local production of IGF‐I (Isaksson et al. , 1987). A separate role for the GH/IGF‐I axis in the maintenance of normal bone mineral density (BMD) after epiphyseal closure is also apparent and is an area of active clinical investigation. In this review, we examine the effects of GH on mature bone, summarize the findings of studies on the skeletal effects of GH in adults, and consider the potential use of GH as an anabolic agent in the treatment of osteoporosis.