GH increases extracellular volume by stimulating sodium reabsorption in the distal nephron and preventing pressure natriuresis.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Growth Hormone, published as a randomized controlled trial.

The aim was to study the effect of short- and long-term GH replacement in adults on sodium balance, renal hemodynamics, and blood pressure.

Why It Was Studied

All measurements were performed under metabolic ward conditions.

Extracellular water (ECW) was determined using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Who Took Part

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Ten adults with severe GH deficiency were included into a 7-d, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial followed by 12 months of open GH replacement.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Growth Hormone group and the comparison group should start out alike.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Growth Hormone could be set against what happens without it.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Growth Hormone and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

Renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate were assessed using renal paraminohippurate and Cr(51) EDTA clearances, respectively.

Renal tubular sodium reabsorption was assessed using lithium clearance.

Plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma concentrations of angiotensin II, aldosterone, atrial natriuretic peptides and brain natriuretic peptides (BNP) and 24-h urinary norepinephrine excretion were measured.

What Was Measured

All measurements were performed under metabolic ward conditions.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Absorption, Aldosterone, Angiotensin II, Blood Pressure, Body Water, Circadian Rhythm and Extracellular Space.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, placebo-controlled and crossover study of Growth Hormone.

The publication is from 2002 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the related Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) library page, all human trials.