Aging and Immune Function: A Possible Role for Growth Hormone

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Elderly individuals have four to five times the case rate of cancer, tuberculosis and herpes zoster and six to seven times the fatality rate from pneumonia compared to young adults. This may be causally related to two changes that occur with aging, i.e. decreased growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) production and decreased immune function. Data from our laboratory as well as others have shown that, based on either GH secretory dynamics or IGF-1 levels, approximately 40% of adults aged 60 and older are GH deficient. In the same population of subjects, immune function decreases such that there is a decline in cell-mediated and humoral immune responsiveness. Some of these immune deficits have been shown to be reversed in humans and primates by GH and/or IGF-1 treatment. This paper will review some of these data.

Related collections

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): HRE

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Horm Res Paediatr

Journal ID (doi): 10.1159/issn.1663-2818

Title: Hormone Research in Paediatrics

Publisher: S. Karger AG

ISBN: 978-3-8055-6280-5

ISBN: 978-3-318-00020-7

ISSN (Print): 1663-2818

ISSN (Electronic): 1663-2826

Publication date Subscription-year: 1996

Publication date (Print): 1996

Publication date (Electronic): 09 December 2008

Volume: 45

Issue: 1-2

Pages: 46-49

Affiliations

Division of Endocrinology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, N.Y., USA

Article

Publisher ID: 184758 Other ID: Horm Res 1996;45:46–49

DOI: 10.1159/000184758

PubMed ID: 8742118

SO-VID: f5837162-7647-4b0e-b773-412d43757957

License:

Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug. Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.

Aging and Immune Function: A Possible Role for Growth Hormone

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Karger: Endocrinology

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Page count

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 199

Cited by 1