Human Growth Hormone: Research and Clinical Practice (Contemporary Endocrinology, 19)

In Human Growth Hormone: Research and Clinical Ptractice, Roy Smith and a distinguished panel of researchers and clinicians combine a review of GH regulation and its action at the molecular level with a state-of-the-art description of the basis for GH deficiency and the use of GH therapy in a variety of clinical situations. The clinical uses of GH discussed here move beyond the treatment of GH-deficient children to include the genetics of GH-deficiency, GH-deficiency in adults, osteoporosis, Syndrome X, sleep quality, GH in AIDS patients, and GHRH in clinical studies. Also described are a family of GH-secretagogues that bind to a new orphan receptor controlling the physiology of GH release. The discussion of the new GH therapeutics includes their design, their action as regulators in the pituitary gland and in the central nervous system, and their use as new agents for treating growth hormone deficiency states. Human Growth Hormone: Research and Clinical Practice offers an unprecedented cutting-edge synthesis of basic science and clinical practice. Timely and innovative, this book will benefit both basic and clinical researchers, as well as those clinical endocrinologists who want to use growth hormone not only in treating children, but also in treating adult disorders, including those associated with metabolic disease. Front Matter....Pages i-x Overview of Human Growth Hormone....Pages 1-13 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 GHRP Historical Perspective....Pages 17-43 The Design of Peptidomimetic Growth Hormone Secretagogues....Pages 45-67 Molecular Characterization of Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptors....Pages 69-84 Central Actions of Peptide and Nonpeptide Growth Hormone Secretagogues....Pages 85-95 Pharmacology of Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone and Its Peptide Analogs....Pages 97-108 Somatostatin Receptor Subtypes and Regulation of GH Secretion....Pages 109-117 Mathematical Modeling of the GH Release Axis....Pages 119-130 Activation of the Human Growth Hormone Receptor....Pages 131-143 The Central Nervous System as a Direct Target for Growth Hormone Action....Pages 145-166 Front Matter....Pages 167-167 Molecular Defects of the Growth Hormone Axis....Pages 169-190 Growth Hormone....Pages 191-219 Growth Hormone Deficiency in Adults....Pages 221-232 Growth Hormone and Osteoporosis....Pages 233-245 Growth Hormone and Syndrome X....Pages 247-260 Interactions Between Growth Hormone Secretion and Sleep....Pages 261-283 Growth Hormone in AIDS....Pages 285-295 Clinical and Physiological Studies with Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone....Pages 297-313 Clinical Use of Growth Hormone Secretagogues....Pages 315-334 Back Matter....Pages 335-348 In a state-of-the-art synthesis of basic science and clinical practice, Roy Smith and a distinguished panel of researchers and clinicians review GH regulation and its action at the molecular level, and describe the basis for GH deficiency and the use of GH as therapy in a variety of clinical situations. The clinical presentation moves beyond the treatment of GH-deficient children to include the genetics of GH-deficiency, GH-deficiency in adults, osteoporosis, Syndrome X, sleep quality, GH in AIDS patients, GHRH in clinical studies. Timely and innovative, Human Growth Hormone: Research and Clinical Practice will benefit both basic and clinical researchers, as well as those clinical endocrinologists who want to use growth hormone not only in treating children, but also in treating adult disorders, including those associated with metabolic disease.