Growth hormone therapy dosing

Thyroid function tests are often altered by somatropin because of increased conversion of T4 to T3, but this is clinically insignificant at low doses (SEDA-21, 453). One child with Prader-Willi syndrome had a fall in serum thyroxine concentration during somatropin therapy and needed thyroxine replacement (33). Hypothyroidism developed in 11 of 46 growth hormone-deficient children treated with somatropin (34). Prior abnormalities in hypothalamic-pituitary function and alterations in thyroid hormone metabolism, probably both, contributed to the high incidence of hypothyroidism, which was similar to that in previous studies. 

Drake WM, Coyte D, Camacho-Hubner C, Jivanji NM, Kaltsas G, Wood DF, Trainer PJ, Grossman AB, Besser GM, Monson JP. Optimizing growth hormone replacement therapy by dose titration in hypopituitary adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998 83(ll) 3913-9. 

Toogood AA, Shalet SM. Growth hormone replacement therapy in the elderly with hypothalamic-pituitary disease a dose-finding study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1999 84(l) 131-6. 

Chew SL, Grossman AB, Besser GM, Monson JP. 67. Sustained reduction in circulating cholesterol in adult hypopituitary patients given low dose titrated growth hormone replacement therapy a two year study, din Endocrinol (Oxf) 2000 53(4) 453-9. 

Rosenfalck AM, Maghsoudi S, Fisker S, Jorgensen JO, Christiansen JS, Hilsted J, Volund AA, Madsbad S. The 68. effect of 30 months of low-dose replacement therapy with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on insulin... 

Blethen S. Dosing, monitoring, and safety of growth hormone-replacement therapy in adults with growth hormone deficiency. Endocrinologist 1998 8 S36-40. 

In many cases the most important aspect of structural studies is that knowledge of the structure of a protein leads to improved understanding of its function. For instance, if a protein has to be administered for lifetime or long-firm TAnjswmnii therapy (c.g, insulin, growth hormone, factor IX), it is import tant to know all about its stmcture-function-stability relationships. A longer turnover time or a higher specific activity, for example, allows for a smaller dose to... 

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