[Growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor and insulin-like growth factor binding protein in young type I diabetes patients with the onset of diabetic angiopathy].

UNLABELLED

Growth hormone, insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins are now gaining a great interest in the development of microvascular complications in diabetic children and adolescents. THE AIM OF THE STUDY WAS: 1. Evaluation of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-3) levels in youths with diabetes type 1. 2. Evaluation of correlations between this proteins and the development of microvascular complications and metabolic control.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was carried out on 39 young diabetic persons aged (8-20 yrs), mean-14.8, suffering from diabetes mean 7.45 yrs (2.3-15), 20 boys and 19 girls, diabetic outpatient clinic patients. The study group was divided into 2 groups: I, n = 11, with the begin of microangiopathy and group II, n = 28, without any symptoms of vascular complications. Control group consisted of 16 healthy adolescents. GH, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were estimated by use of radioimmunoenzymatic methods.

RESULTS

In adolescents with diabetes we found higher GH levels, and lower IGF-1 as well as IGFBP-3 levels in comparison to control group. Statistically higher were IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in children with diabetes duration longer than 10 years. Metabolic control did not influence GH, IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 levels.

CONCLUSIONS

1. Children and adolescents with diabetes type 1 have elevated level of growth hormone, with lower level of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3. 2. Oversecretion of growth hormone did not depend on metabolic control. 3. Adolescents with diabetic microangiopathy have significantly elevated levels of growth hormone and low levels of IGFBP-3. 4. Disturbances in axis GH-IGF-1--IGFBP-3 seems to be responsible for early development of diabetic microangiopathy. This knowledge may give new opportunities for therapy diabetic children and adolescents with early phases of microangiopathy with recombinated IGF-1.