Effects of Growth Hormone Therapy on Metabolic Function in Fatty Liver Post-Pituitary Adenoma Surgery

Growth Hormone (GH) is an important hormone secreted by the pituitary gland and is essential for maintaining normal fat, muscle, bone content, and energy balance in the body. The prevalence of adult Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) is approximately 0.3% in adults. When human growth hormone is deficient, lipid metabolism is most prone to disorder. The study found that blood triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels increased in GHD patients, and blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased. GHD is most common in patients with pituitary tumor after surgery or radiotherapy, especially in patients with GH adenoma after surgery. The lipid metabolism disorder is the most serious among all GHD patients because the excessive growth hormone before surgery has caused a state of severe lipid metabolism disorder, and after surgery, patients are directly converted to a state of growth hormone deficiency, exacerbating the lipid metabolism disorder. This disorder will progress from poor to worse, and long-term follow-up shows a higher likelihood of developing secondary atherosclerotic diseases post-surgery.

Current studies have shown that when abnormal lipid metabolism occurs in GHD patients, fat will first accumulate in the liver. Therefore, compared with changes in blood lipid metabolism indexes and body components, changes in liver fat content can detect abnormal lipid metabolism earlier. Liver fat deposition, as the initiating factor of systemic metabolic disorders, is involved in the occurrence and development of diabetes and atherosclerotic diseases. Currently, it is considered that the fat deposition in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is reversible. Therefore, it is particularly urgent to conduct very early intervention for GHD patients with pituitary GH adenoma after operation to block the occurrence of subsequent metabolic adverse events.

It has been reported that recombinant human growth hormone can be used in the treatment of abnormal lipid metabolism due to GHD, but at present, there is a lack of relevant studies on recombinant human growth hormone in the treatment of abnormal lipid metabolism in patients with pituitary GH adenoma after surgery, especially the study on the change of liver fat content. The investigators intend to apply a recombinant human growth hormone dose of 1 mg/week (6 IU is 1 mg) to GH adenoma patients with GHD and NAFLD after GH adenoma surgery, aiming to increase the insulin-like growth factor-1 of patients to the median of the normal level of peers, with a treatment duration of 24 weeks. After treatment, changes in liver fat content at baseline and 24 weeks after intervention will be measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) and Fibroscan liver stiffness. The changes in metabolic parameters (body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, blood lipids, high iron content, and other metabolic-related inflammatory factors) before and after recombinant human growth hormone treatment will be evaluated.

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human growth hormone in the treatment of GHD-induced NAFLD patients with abnormal lipid metabolism after GH adenoma surgery and propose a suitable treatment method for people with abnormal lipid metabolism due to GHD after GH adenoma surgery, providing a direct basis for establishing a standardized clinical treatment path in the next step.

The Department of Neurosurgery of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University carries out more than 300 cases of various types of pituitary tumors every year, including more than 100 cases of pituitary GH adenoma. It has developed a multidisciplinary joint clinic for pituitary tumors earlier in China and has rich experience in the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary tumors, meeting the needs of 40 enrolled cases. The Department of Endocrinology has been committed to the evaluation of lipid metabolism disorders in nonalcoholic fatty liver for a long time. Currently, ultrasound and imaging are proficient in non-invasive methods of determining liver fat, such as MRS liver stiffness test. As a large Class III hospital in Shanghai, with a wealth of pituitary tumor patients, it can meet the enrollment requirements of subjects, and the endocrinology department can complete the assessment of lipid metabolism disorder. Detailed exit criteria and rescue plans have been jointly developed. Adverse events that may occur during the study were defined and addressed in detail.