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Acute cardiovascular and hormonal effects of GH and hexarelin, a synthetic GH-releasing peptide, in humans

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Abstract

Reduced cardiac mass and performances are present in GH deficiency and are coun-teracted by rhGH replacement. GH and IGF-I possess specific myocardial receptors and have been reported able to exert an acute inotropic effect. Synthetic GH secretagogues (GHS) possess specific pituitary and hypothalamic but even myocar-dial receptors. In 7 male volunteers, we studied cardiac performance by radionuclide angiocardiography after iv administration of rhGH or hexare-lin (HEX), a peptidyl GHS. The administration of rhGH or HEX increased circulating GH levels to the same extent (AUC: 1594.6±88.1 vs 1739.3±262.2 μg/l/min for 90 min) while aldosterone and cate-cholamine levels did not change; HEX, but not rhGH, significantly increased cortisol levels. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), mean blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR) were unaffected by rhGH (62.4±2.1 vs 62.1±2.3%, 90.6±3.4 vs 92.0±2.5 mm Hg, 62.3±1.8 vs 66.7±2.7 bpm). HEX increased LVEF (70.7±3.0 vs 64.0±1.5%, p<0.03) without significant changes in MBP and HR (92.8±4.7 vs 92.4±3.2 mmHg, 63.1±2.1 vs 67.0±2.9 bpm). LVEF significantly raised at 15 min, peaked at 30 min and lasted up to 60 min after HEX. These findings suggest that in man, the acute administration of Hexarelin exerts a short-lasting, positive inotropic effect. This effect seems GH-in-dependent and might be mediated by specific GHS myocardial receptors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Divisioni di Medicina Nucleare e di Endocrinologia e Metabolismo, Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, University of Torino, Ospedale Molinette, C.so Dogliotti 14, 10126, Turin, Italy

    G. Bisi M.D., V. Podio, M. R. Valetto, F. Broglio, G. Bertuccio, E. Arvat, M. F. Boghen & E. Ghigo

  2. Divisione di Endocrinologia e Metabolismo, University of Modena, Italy

    G. Del Rio

  3. Europeptides, Argenteuil, France

    R. Deghenghi

  4. Dipartimento di Anatomia, Farmacologia e di Medicina Legale, University of Torino, Italy

    G. Muccioli

  5. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Montreal, Canada

    H. Ong

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  1. G. Bisi M.D.
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Bisi, G., Podio, V., Valetto, M.R. et al. Acute cardiovascular and hormonal effects of GH and hexarelin, a synthetic GH-releasing peptide, in humans. J Endocrinol Invest 22, 266–272 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03343555

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