Diabetes-like alterations in hemostatic parameters after growth hormone administration for one week in normal man

Excess production of growth hormone (GH) in poorly controlled diabetes is believed to be a causal factor in the development of diabetic angiopathy, the mechanism(s) of which is unknown. The present study was undertaken to determine whether exogenous growth hormone would specifically change some quantities and functional parameters known to often be abnormal in long-standing diabetes and thought to result from the development of vascular lesions in general. The authors studied capillary resistance, factor VIII coagulant antigen (F VIII:Ag), von Willebrand factor (vWf:Ag), fibronectin, fibrinogen, and tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) before, during, and after 1 week's subcutaneous GH administration (6 IU per day divided into two doses). Capillary resistance decreased insignificantly, but returned to higher levels (p less than 0.05) 1 week after withdrawal. F VIII:Ag, vWf:Ag, fibronectin, and fibrinogen all increased significantly during GH treatment. Except for F VIII:Ag, these quantities returned to pre-medication levels 7 days after termination of GH administration. The present results may contribute to the clarification of the role of GH hypersecretion in diabetic microangiopathy and macroangiopathy.