Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1972 May;51(5):1118–1124. doi: 10.1172/JCI106904

Metabolic Effects of Human Growth Hormone and of Estrogens in Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Daniel Rudman 1,2,3,4, Samuel B Chyatte 1,2,3,4, Joseph H Patterson 1,2,3,4, Glynda G Gerron 1,2,3,4, Irma O'Beirne 1,2,3,4, Joan Barlow 1,2,3,4, Ashby Jordan 1,2,3,4, Joel S Shavin 1,2,3,4
PMCID: PMC292241  PMID: 5057128

Abstract

Metabolic balance studies were conducted in seven boys with Duchenne-type muscular dystrophy, and in six normal boys of similar age, during a 12 day control period and during a 12 day period of treatment with human growth hormone (HGH) at the following doses: 0.0168, 0.0532, and 0.168 U/kg body weight (BW)¾ per day (doses A, B, and C, respectively). In five of the six normals, dose C caused positive balances in N, P, Na, and K; doses B and A had anabolic effects in two and one normal subjects, respectively. In six of the seven Duchenne cases, dose C caused negative balances of N and K, and sometimes of P. Negative balances were produced in three of the Duchenne subjects by dose B, and in one by dose A. None of the dystrophy cases exhibited an anabolic response to any dosage of HGH tested.

The release of endogenous HGH in response to insulin, after 2 days' pretreatment with diethylstilbestrol, was similar in both groups of subjects. In the course of these tests, a marked anabolic effect of diethylstilbestrol in the Duchenne patients was apparent. Therefore metabolic balance studies were repeated, in both Duchenne and normal cases, during a 12 day control period and during 12 days of treatment with diethylstilbestrol (0.106 mg/kg BW¾ per day). In three of the normal children, diethylstilbestrol had no effect on the elemental balances; in two cases, a retention of Na was observed. In all seven Duchenne cases, diethylstilbestrol caused positive balances in N, P, Na, and K. Ethinyl estradiol (0.0106 mg/kg BW¾ per day) produced positive N, P, Na, and K balances in all three Duchenne cases tested with this agent.

The data show that exogenous HGH causes a catabolic effect in boys with Duchenne dystrophy. These patients are hyperresponsive to the anabolic effect of diethylstilbestrol. The latter phenomenon may reflect the inhibitory effect of estrogen upon the peripheral actions of these boys' endogenous HGH.

Full text

PDF
1118

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. AGNA J. W., KNOWLES H. C., Jr, ALVERSON G. The mineral content of normal human bone. J Clin Invest. 1958 Oct;37(10):1357–1361. doi: 10.1172/JCI103725. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berlinguet L., Srivastava U. Proteolytic enzymes in normal and dystrophic mouse muscle. Can J Biochem. 1966 May;44(5):613–623. doi: 10.1139/o66-074. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CHANEY A. L., MARBACH E. P. Modified reagents for determination of urea and ammonia. Clin Chem. 1962 Apr;8:130–132. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. COLEMAN D. L., ASHWORTH M. E. Incorporation of glycine-I-C14 into nucleic acids and proteins of mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy. Am J Physiol. 1959 Oct;197:839–841. doi: 10.1152/ajplegacy.1959.197.4.839. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HORVATH B., BERG L., CUMMINGS D. J., SHY G. M. Muscular dystrophy: cation concentrations in residual muscle. J Appl Physiol. 1955 Jul;8(1):22–30. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1955.8.1.22. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. KRUH J., DREYFUS J. C., SCHAPIRA G., GEY G. O., Jr Abnormalities of muscle protein metabolism in mice with muscular dystrophy. J Clin Invest. 1960 Jul;39:1180–1184. doi: 10.1172/JCI104132. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LILIENFELD A. M., JACOBS M., WILLIS M. A study of the reproducibility of muscle testing and certain other aspects of muscle scoring. Phys Ther Rev. 1954 Jun;34(6):279–289. doi: 10.1093/ptj/34.6.279. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. MARSH W. H., FINGERHUT B., KIRSCH E. Determination of urea nitrogen with the diacetyl method and an automatic dialyzing apparatus. Am J Clin Pathol. 1957 Dec;28(6):681–688. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/28.6_ts.681. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Merimee T. J., Rabinowitz D., Riggs L., Burgess J. A., Rimoin D. L., McKusick V. A. Plasma growth hormone after arginine infusion. Clinical experiences. N Engl J Med. 1967 Feb 23;276(8):434–439. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196702232760803. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Reifenstein E. C., Jr, Albright F. THE METABOLIC EFFECTS OF STEROID HORMONES IN OSTEOPOROSIS. J Clin Invest. 1947 Jan;26(1):24–56. doi: 10.1172/JCI101787. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rosalki S. B. An improved procedure for serum creatine phosphokinase determination. J Lab Clin Med. 1967 Apr;69(4):696–705. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rudman D., Chyatte S. B., Patterson J. H., Gerron G. G., O'Beirne I., Barlow J., Ahmann P., Jordan A., Mosteller R. C. Observations on the responsiveness of human subjects to human growth hormone. Effects of endogenous growth hormone deficiency and myotinic dystrophy. J Clin Invest. 1971 Sep;50(9):1941–1949. doi: 10.1172/JCI106686. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SIMON E. J., GROSS C. S., LESSELL I. M. Turnover of muscle and liver proteins in mice with hereditary muscular dystrophy. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1962 Jan;96:41–46. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(62)90447-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. SWINYARD C. A., DEAVER G. G., GREENSPAN L. Gradients of functional ability of importance in rehabilitation of patients with progressive muscular and neuromuscular diseases. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1957 Sep;38(9):574–579. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Schwartz E., Wiedemann E., Simon S., Schiffer M. Estrogenic antagonism of metabolic effects of administered growth hormone. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1969 Sep;29(9):1176–1181. doi: 10.1210/jcem-29-9-1176. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WEINSTOCK I. M., EPSTEIN S., MILHORAT A. T. Enzyme studies in muscular dystrophy. III. In hereditary muscular dystrophy in mice. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1958 Oct;99(1):272–276. doi: 10.3181/00379727-99-24320. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Watts D. C., Reid J. D. Comparison of the protein-synthesizing machinery in the skeletal muscle of normal and dystrophic Bar Harbor mice. Biochem J. 1969 Nov;115(3):377–382. doi: 10.1042/bj1150377. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Investigation are provided here courtesy of American Society for Clinical Investigation

RESOURCES