Somatic growth in corticosteroid-treated rats with passive Heymann nephritis--effects of recombinant human growth hormone on growth impairment.

We evaluated the efficacy of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) on corticosteroid (CS)-induced growth-impaired rats with proteinuria (passive Heymann nephritis. R-hGH (2 IU twice daily) improved growth in rats treated with 20 mg/kg per day of prednisolone succinate in our 4-week study. Although plasma hGH was significantly increased in rats treated with r-HGH, plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 levels were not different between treated and untreated rats. The food utilization rate was significantly improved by r-hGH. R-hGH did not affect proteinuria, renal function, or calcium and phosphate metabolism. Our results suggest that r-hGH may be effective in improving growth impairment due to CS administration.