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The Acute Effects of Human Growth Hormone Administration on Thyroid Function in Normal Men^*

CARL GRUNFELD, BARRY M. SHERMAN and RALPH R. CAVALIERI

Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco San Francisco, California 94121
The Metabolism Section, Medical Service and Nuclear Medicine Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center San Francisco, California 94121
The Department of Clinical Research, Genentech, Inc. South San Francisco, California 94080

Address requests for reprints to: Barry Sherman, M.D., Genentech, Inc., 460 Point San Bruno Boulevard, South San Francisco, California 94080.

GH replacement therapy may lead to alterations in serum TSH and/or thyroid hormone values in GH-deficient patients, but there is no consensus on the explanation for these changes. We examined the effect of GH administration (0.125 mg, sc, daily for 4 days) on thyroid function in 20 normal men. Serum T₄ levels decreased by 8%, and serum free T₄ index values decreased by 5%. In contrast, serum T₃ levels increased by 21%; serum rT₃ did not change. These changes were accompanied by a 54% decrease in the mean serum TSH level. While it is not possible to draw conclusions about hormone production and disposal rates from changes in serum levels, these data are most consistent with enhanced extrathyroidal (including intrapituitary) conversion of T₄ to T₃ and a compensatory decrease in TSH secretion.

^* This work was supported in part by grants from the V.A. Research Service, the NIH (DK-37102), and Genentech, Inc.

Clinical Investigator with the V.A.

Received March 15, 1991.

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