Metabolic consequences of recombinant human growth hormone therapy in patients with Turner syndrome

Turner syndrome (TS) predisposes to metabolic complications. Currently, TS patients are treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rGH) as standard therapy. The long-term effect of this therapy on carbohydrate metabolism remains unclear. Aim of the study: To assess possible metabolic alterations following rGH therapy.

Material and methods: We enrolled 53 TS participants, comprising 37 patients who finished rGH therapy (group 1) and 16 patients who did not receive growth promoting therapy (group 2). Several anthropometric measurements were made. Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, adipokines, and hs-CRP were assessed basing on laboratory test. The following indices were calculated: HOMA-IR, HOMA-b, QUICKI, and Matsuda.

There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in terms of BMI or WHR. There was a statistically significant lower mean percentage of fat tissue in group 1 compared to group 2 (27.46% vs. 31.75%). Insulin resistance and sensitivity indices were not statistically different between groups. Using the Matsuda index, more patients who met criteria of insulin resistance were found in group 2 than in group 1 (56.25% vs. 37.84%); however, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.2). No statistically significant differences were found in lipid profile, adipokines, and hsCRP between groups.

rGH therapy leads to a beneficial change in body composition of TS patients despite unchanged BMI. A decrease in body fat persists for several years after finishing rGH treatment; rGH treatment is connected with a trend toward increased insulin sensitivity.