Growth hormone treatment in humans has been shown to decrease body fat. This study aims to determine what adipose tissue depots are affected by GH and what is the mechanism.
Growth hormone (GH) replacement in GH deficient adults results in an improvement in metabolic status, an increase in lean body mass and a reduction in visceral adiposity. GH might also decrease visceral adiposity in obese adults that are not GH deficient. The objective of the study is to determine the effects of GH on the metabolic syndrome and visceral adiposity in men with low blood levels of IGF-1 and the durability of these effects after stopping GH therapy. We will use a double blind, placebo controlled 6 month intervention trial followed by a blinded follow-up period of 6 months. Thirty non-diabetic middle aged men with central adiposity (BMI \> 27 kg/m2, waist circumference \> 102 cm) will participate.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
30
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
body composition at baseline, after 6 months of treatment and at the end of the followup period
energy expenditure at baseline, after 6 months of treatment and at the end of the followup period
gene expression in adipose tissue at baseline and after 6 months of treatment
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