The 12th hGH Symposium
Keystone, June 17-18, 2001
Editors: M.B. Ranke, Tübingen; J.S. Christiansen, Aarhus

Paper

Steroid Myopathy: Pathogenesis and Effects of Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Administration
Fumio Kanda, Shiho Okuda, Tatsuo Matsushita, Keiko Takatani, Ken-ichi Kimura, Kazuo Chihara

Third Division, Department of Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

Address of Corresponding Author

Horm Res 2001;56:24-28 (DOI: 10.1159/000048130)

  Key Words

• Steroid myopathy
• Growth hormone
• Insulin-like growth factor-I
• Glutamine synthetase
• Calcineurin

  Abstract

Glucocorticoids have been widely used in the treatment of autoimmune and other diseases. Chronic steroid use, however, could cause proximal muscle weakness and atrophy, termed steroid myopathy. The onset of steroid myopathy is usually insidious and there are no specific laboratory findings except for elevated urinary creatine excretion. Muscle biopsy reveals non-specific type II fiber atrophy. There are many reports showing preventive effects of either growth hormone (GH) or insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I on steroid myopathy. The pathogenesis of steroid myopathy is not fully understood. Recently, glutamine synthetase has been reported to play a key role in steroid myopathy. GH as well as IGF-I decreased the steroid-induced glutamine synthetase activity in skeletal muscle.

Copyright © 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Fumio Kanda
Third Division, Department of Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine
7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku
Kobe 650-0017 (Japan)
Tel. +81 78 382 5885, Fax +81 78 382 5899, E-Mail kanda@med.kobe-u.ac.jp

  Article Information

Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 59