Effects of Growth Hormone Administration on Muscle Strength and Body Composition in Men Over 50 Years Old

August 31, 2014 updated by: Ana Beatriz Winter Tavares, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
The growth hormone (GH) secretion declines gradually with age, with studies demonstrating a progressive reduction of 14% secretion per decade of life beginning in the second decade. Other studies suggest a disruption in GH secretion in elderly people. These findings suggest a possible association between growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and the ageing process.GH replacement is well known to improve body composition, leading to a decrease in total body fat and an increase in lean body mass. However, GH replacement has only shown an effect on muscle strength in GH-deficient adults subjected to long-term GH therapy. Few studies have evaluated the effect of GH replacement on muscle strength in elderly people engaged in a program of exercise training.Our purpose is to evaluate the effect of GH therapy on muscle strength in healthy, non-sedentary men over 50 years old.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

At baseline, subjects are submitted to evaluation of GH secretion, testosterone level, body composition, and muscle strength. Absence of GHD and normal testosterone levels were necessary for the inclusion in the study. These parameters will be evaluated after 6 months of GH use x placebo.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

13

Phase

  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Brazil
      • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21941-913
        • Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho - UFRJ

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

50 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy and non-sedentary men aged 50-70 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pituitary disease, GH use in the last 12 months, severe acute disease, hepatic and/or renal chronic disease, uncontrolled systemic arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, psychiatric disorders, history of cancer, non-treated hypogonadism and the presence of any other disease that could interfere with the somatotrophic axis.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: growth hormone
GH group received an initial dose of 0.5 units (UI)/day (0.2 mg/day), with readjustments to 1.0 UI/day (0.4 mg/day) and 1.5 UI/day (0.6 mg/day) after 1 and 2 months of treatment, respectively. The last GH dose will be maintained until the end of the study (6 months).
Drug: growth hormone
GH group intervention: use of GH - initial dose of 0.5 UI/day (0.2 mg/day), with readjustments to 1.0 UI/day (0.4 mg/day) and 1.5 UI/day (0.6 mg/day) after 1 and 2 months of treatment, respectively. The last GH dose will be maintained until the end of the study. These GH dosages were based on the dose used for adults of the same age with GHD. Subjects will be re-evaluated after 6 months of GH therapy or placebo according to muscle strength and body composition .The other group received placebo using the same scheme as the GH group.
Other Names:
  • somatotropin

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Muscle strength after GH replacement
Time Frame: after 6 months of GH replacement
Muscle strength is evaluated for the maximum strength based on the concept of maximum repetition (1 MR) (i.e., the maximum load that can be performed using the correct technique for an exercise).The exercises evaluated were bench press and leg press. To determine the load associated with 10 MR, each subject can initially performed 10 repetitions of each exercise with a sub maximum load, which is considered a load that was possible to mobilise. Then, the loads are progressively increased and with a maximum of 3 trials, the load of 10 MR is reached. During the 10 MR test, a 2-5 minute interval is provided between the attempts of each exercise. After the load was obtained for a determined exercise, intervals not less than 10 minutes were given before moving on to the next exercise.
after 6 months of GH replacement

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
body composition after growth hormone replacement
Time Frame: after 6 months of growth hormone
Body mass index is calculated using Quetelet's formula (weight/height2) and the percentage of body fat was calculated using the adipometer on seven cutaneous folds (tricipital, subscapular, suprailiac, pectoral, axillary, abdominal and thigh) according to the Pollock and Jackson protocol. Abdominal circumference is measured using a non-elastic tape at the greatest diameter between the last ribs and the iliac crests. The same person examined all subjects.
after 6 months of growth hormone

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ana Beatriz tavares, Hospital Universitario Clementino Fraga Filho - UFRJ

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 7, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 10, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

May 15, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

September 3, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2014

Last Verified

August 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GH and men

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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