Growth Hormone Enhances Effects of Thyroxine

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 25 - In a study of patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency, GH replacement improved the biological effects of thyroxine, Brazilian researchers report.

They note in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism for November that central hypothyroidism is common in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease, and that growth hormone deficiency is usually present in such cases.

According to senior author Dr. Julio Abucham and colleagues, "The biological significance of GH-induced changes in serum thyroid hormone concentrations is unknown. It has been suggested that serum free T4 should be targeted at the high-normal range during GH replacement."

The investigators, from Escola ista de Medicina-Universidade Federal de Sao o, assessed the impact of GH replacement on thyroxine's biologic effects by conducting various studies in 32 GH-deficient patients.

Taken together, the findings from the studies indicated that the biological effects of T4 were increased while the patients were on rather than off GH replacement.

The results suggest that when patients are receiving GH, clinicians should aim for serum free T4 levels in the midnormal range, the authors conclude. In patients not receiving GH, by contrast, a target free T4 level in the high-normal range seems more appropriate.

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