Effects of Chronic Growth Hormone Treatment on Energy Intake and Resting Energy Metabolism in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Wasting—A Clinical Research Center Study1

In previous studies, treatment with recombinant human GH (rhGH) produced sustained increases in weight and lean body mass (LBM) and decreases in fat mass in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated wasting. To evaluate the effects of chronic rhGH treatment on components of energy balance, we recruited separate subgroups of HIV-positive patients with an involuntary weight loss of 10% or more to undergo paired measurements of resting energy metabolism (n = 6) or food intake (n = 11) before and during the final week of a 3-month rhGH (0.1 mg/kg·day) treatment period. In the energy metabolism subset, resting energy expenditure (REE) and substrate oxidation rates were measured by indirect calorimetry during brief admissions to a metabolic ward. Patients in the energy intake subset prepared written 4-day food intake diaries. Body composition was measured in both groups by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Changes in weight (+2.2 ± 0.9 and +2.2 ± 0.6 kg), LBM (+3.2 ± 0.6 and +3.8 ± 0.5 kg), an...