Growth hormone favorably affects bone turnover and bone mineral density in patients with short bowel syndrome undergoing intestinal rehabilitation.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the hip and spine was performed to determine bone mineral density (BMD) at baseline and weeks 12 and 24.

Why It Was Studied

Patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) have a high prevalence of metabolic bone disease due to nutrient malabsorption and potential effects of parenteral nutrition (PN).

Who Took Part

The study group was 24 subjects.

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults, both men and women.

Open-label hGH was given from week 13 to week 24 in subjects who required PN after completion of the 12-week double-blind phase.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, open-label and placebo-controlled.

The subjects were allocated by chance, so the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

As a double-blind Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Being open-label, the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study did not mask who received what.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) could be set against what happens without it.

Markers of bone turnover (serum osteocalcin and urinary N-telopeptide [NTX]), vitamin D nutriture (serum calcium, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-OH D] and parathyroid hormone [PTH] concentrations), and intestinal calcium absorption were measured at baseline and at weeks 4 and 12.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Absorptiometry, Photon, Bone Density, Bone and Bones, Calcium, Collagen Type I, Human Growth Hormone and Intestinal Absorption.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and open-label study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 24 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 7 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2007 (JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page and the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.