Growth hormone treatment in adults

Wrth the development of recombinant DNA technology a practically limitless amount of GH became available for clinical use. Against the background of the sizable literature, aims of the work in this thesis were to further investigate: a) optimal dose regimens regarding beneficial and harmful effects of the administration of pharmacological doses of GH in catabolic elderly adults. b) the possible role of GH as a stimulator of cancer growth or in the treatment of cancer induced cachexia in a tumor-bearing rat model. c) body compos~ion of GH deficient adults. d) the effects of chronic GH replacement in GH deficient adults.