TY - JOUR
T1 - Elements in the Pathophysiology of Diminished Growth Hormone (GH) Secretion in Aging Humans
AU - Veldhuis, Johannes D.
AU - Iranmanesh, Ali
AU - Weltman, Arthur
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Patsy Craig for her skillful preparation of the manuscript; Paula P. Azimi for the computing and artwork; and Sandra Jackson and the expert nursing staff at the University of Virginia Clinical Research Center for conduct of the research protocols. This work was supported in part by NIH Grant RR-00847 (to the Clinical Research Center of the University of Virginia), the Baxter Healthcare Corporation (Round Lake, IL), the NIH-supported Clinfo Data Reduction Systems, the University of Virginia Pratt Foundation and Academic Enhancement Program, the National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing (Grant DIR89-20162), the NIH P-30 Center for Reproduction Research (HD-28934), and Veterans Affairs Merit Review Research Funds (A.I.), and NIA ROI AG14799(JDV).
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - Remarkable decreases in growth hormone (CH) secretion accompany healthy aging. The pathophysiology of this hyposomatotropism is confounded by concurrent changes in body composition (with increased visceral fat), physiological declines in estrogen and androgen concentrations, differences in gender responses to aging, and alterations not only in the quantity of GH secreted, but also (as more recently evident) in the orderliness or regularity of the GH release process (e.g., as assessed by approximate entropy). In addition, physical fitness or aerobic capacity also positively modulates GH secretion. Lastly, confounding variables such as altered sleep patterns and nutritional state may contribute to overall regulation of the GH axis in aging. Despite confounding variables, available human experiments suggest partial growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) deficiency in healthy older individuals, presumptively combined with somatostatin excess, and disruption of the moment-to-moment pattern of coordinated and orderly GH release. Here, the authors review these selected facets of recent experimental evaluation of the human GH insulin-like growth factor-I (GH-IGF-I) feedback axis in aging humans.
AB - Remarkable decreases in growth hormone (CH) secretion accompany healthy aging. The pathophysiology of this hyposomatotropism is confounded by concurrent changes in body composition (with increased visceral fat), physiological declines in estrogen and androgen concentrations, differences in gender responses to aging, and alterations not only in the quantity of GH secreted, but also (as more recently evident) in the orderliness or regularity of the GH release process (e.g., as assessed by approximate entropy). In addition, physical fitness or aerobic capacity also positively modulates GH secretion. Lastly, confounding variables such as altered sleep patterns and nutritional state may contribute to overall regulation of the GH axis in aging. Despite confounding variables, available human experiments suggest partial growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) deficiency in healthy older individuals, presumptively combined with somatostatin excess, and disruption of the moment-to-moment pattern of coordinated and orderly GH release. Here, the authors review these selected facets of recent experimental evaluation of the human GH insulin-like growth factor-I (GH-IGF-I) feedback axis in aging humans.
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U2 - 10.1007/bf02778061
DO - 10.1007/bf02778061
M3 - Article
C2 - 9449030
AN - SCOPUS:0031196453
SN - 1355-008X
VL - 7
SP - 41
EP - 48
JO - Endocrine
JF - Endocrine
IS - 1
ER -