Replacement GH Therapy After Bariatric Surgery in Patients With Very Severe Obesity

Obesity and obesity-related diseases have reached epidemic proportions in Western countries (1-3). Laparoscopic-adjustable silicone gastric banding (LASGB) is a purely restrictive operation that determine effective weight loss without inducing malabsorption (4-6). However, also after LASGB body weight loss is almost invariably associated with Free Fat Mass (FFM) loss, and the relevance of the FFM contribution to total energy expenditure is well-known (7-8). Different endocrine axes are reported to affect FFM. We previously reported that low levels of DHEA-S, an adrenal steroid with controversial anti-adipogenic and anti-atherogenic effects, are increased after the massive and sustainable weight loss induced by LASGB in severely obese premenopausal women and correlated with the higher post-operative FFM (9-10). It is also well known that GH/IGF-I axis exerts relevant effects on FFM and that reduced GH levels might increase Fat Mass (FM) and reduce FFM (11,12). Morbidly obese patients have a reduced GH secretion, generally reversible after weight loss (13-14). In a recent study currently in press, we reported that a persistent deficiency in the GH/IGF-I axis in very obese females is associated to lower decrease in FM after LASGB. Low IGF-I plasma levels have also been reported to be independent prognostic factors of liver steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in morbidly obese patients (15) and ultrasound- measured hepatic left lobe volume might represent a reliable tool for the evaluation of liver involvement in obesity (16). GH deficiency (GHD) in adult patients is associated with an increase in FM and a parallel decrease in FFM (17). The severity of GDH is correlated to cardiovascular risk, body composition abnormalities and bone loss, and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (18-20). GH therapy has been demonstrated to be effective in normalizing body composition, with beneficial effects up to a 2-years follow-up period (21-24). GH therapy has also b