Search Results
Johan Verhelst, Anders F Mattsson, Cecilia Camacho-Hübner, Anton Luger, and Roger Abs
Background
Adult-onset growth hormone deficiency (AO-GHD) is associated with an increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Aim
To determine the effect of GH replacement on the prevalence of MetS in AO-GHD and to study the impact of MetS on the incidence of cardiovascular events during GH replacement.
Patients and methods
1449 AO-GHD patients (males 48.9%; mean age 48.9 ± 12.8 year) were retrieved from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database). The prevalence of MetS (using International Diabetes Federation criteria) and its components were calculated at baseline and after one year of GH replacement. The relative risk to develop cardiovascular events according to the presence of MetS at baseline was assessed in another group of 3282 patients after prolonged GH replacement.
Results
The prevalence of MetS was 46.9% at baseline and 48.2% after one year of GH replacement (P = NS). The percentage of patients with abnormal waist circumference decreased significantly (80.3 vs 77.4%; P < 0.001), but impaired glucose metabolism (17.1 vs 23.3%; P < 0.001) increased and HDL cholesterol (48.2 vs 50.9%; P = 0.011) decreased. Switch from MetS to NoMS (18.5%) and from NoMS to MetS (18.8%) occurred. All patients showed a significant and comparable amelioration of quality of life. During seven years of GH replacement patients with MetS had a 66% higher risk (P = 0.0016) to develop a new coronary disease compared to NoMS.
Conclusion
MetS prevalence remains unchanged in AO-GHD during one year of GH replacement whereas its components are differentially affected. Besides GH replacement, consequent pharmacotherapy of all risk factors and endorsement of lifestyle intervention appears to be of uttermost importance together with early GHD diagnosis to prevent cardiovascular disease during prolonged treatment.
Jose M Garcia, Beverly M K Biller, Márta Korbonits, Vera Popovic, Anton Luger, Christian J Strasburger, Philippe Chanson, Ronald Swerdloff, Christina Wang, Rosa Rosanna Fleming, Fredric Cohen, Nicola Ammer, Gilbert Mueller, Nicky Kelepouris, Frank Strobl, Vlady Ostrow, and Kevin C J Yuen
Abstract
Objective
The macimorelin test is approved for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) based on its efficacy vs the insulin tolerance test (ITT). Macimorelin has a significant advantage over ITT in avoiding hypoglycemia. Analyses were conducted to determine whether macimorelin performance is affected by age, BMI, or sex, and evaluate its performance vs ITT over a range of GH cutpoints.
Design
Post hoc analyses of data from a previous randomized phase 3 study included participants aged 18–66 years with BMI <37 kg/m2 and high (Group A), intermediate (Group B), or low (Group C) likelihood for AGHD based on pituitary history, and matched controls (Group D).
Methods
Probability of AGHD was estimated using unadjusted, age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and sex-adjusted logistic models. Area under the curve (AUC) of the estimated receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (range, 0–1; 1 = perfect) was compared for adjusted vs unadjusted models. Separate analyses evaluated agreement, sensitivity, and specificity for macimorelin and ITT using cutpoints of 2.8, 4.0, 5.1, and 6.5 ng/mL.
Results
For participants in Group A (n = 41) and Group D (n = 29), unadjusted, age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and sex-adjusted models had ROC AUCs (95% CIs) of 0.9924 (0.9807–1), 0.9924 (0.9807–1), 0.9916 (0.9786–1), and 0.9950 (0.9861–1), respectively.
Conclusions
Macimorelin performance was not meaningfully affected by age, BMI, or sex, indicating robustness for AGHD diagnosis. Of the 4 GH cutpoints evaluated, the cutpoint of 5.1 ng/mL provided maximal specificity (96%) and high sensitivity (92%) and was in good overall agreement with the ITT at the same cutpoint (87%).
Anita Hokken-Koelega, Aart-Jan van der Lely, Berthold Hauffa, Gabriele Häusler, Gudmundur Johannsson, Mohamad Maghnie, Jesús Argente, Jean DeSchepper, Helena Gleeson, John W Gregory, Charlotte Höybye, Fahrettin Keleştimur, Anton Luger, Hermann L Müller, Sebastian Neggers, Vera Popovic-Brkic, Eleonora Porcu, Lars Sävendahl, Stephen Shalet, Bessie Spiliotis, and Maithé Tauber
Objective
Seamless transition of endocrine patients from the paediatric to adult setting is still suboptimal, especially in patients with complex disorders, i.e., small for gestational age, Turner or Prader–Willi syndromes; Childhood Cancer Survivors, and those with childhood-onset growth hormone deficiency.
Methods
An expert panel meeting comprised of European paediatric and adult endocrinologists was convened to explore the current gaps in managing the healthcare of patients with endocrine diseases during transition from paediatric to adult care settings.
Results
While a consensus was reached that a team approach is best, discussions revealed that a ‘one size fits all’ model for transition is largely unsuccessful in these patients. They need more tailored care during adolescence to prevent complications like failure to achieve target adult height, reduced bone mineral density, morbid obesity, metabolic perturbations (obesity and body composition), inappropriate/inadequate puberty, compromised fertility, diminished quality of life and failure to adapt to the demands of adult life. Sometimes it is difficult for young people to detach emotionally from their paediatric endocrinologist and/or the abrupt change from an environment of parental responsibility to one of autonomy. Discussions about impending transition and healthcare autonomy should begin in early adolescence and continue throughout young adulthood to ensure seamless continuum of care and optimal treatment outcomes.
Conclusions
Even amongst a group of healthcare professionals with a great interest in improving transition services for patients with endocrine diseases, there is still much work to be done to improve the quality of healthcare for transition patients.
