ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: GH deficiency (GHD) is a disease, in which the pituitary gland does not produce enough GH. GHD has a variety of different negative effects at different ages; e.g. it can result short stature and increased adiposity. Excessive intra-abdominal fat is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In recent years new adipokines such as:omentin-1, vaspin, and visfatin have been described. Omentin-1 is decreased in obesity in contrast to increased vaspin and visfatin.

Aim: The aim of the study was to estimate the concentration of omentin-1, vaspin, and visfatin in serum in patients with GH deficiency and in control subjects with idiopathic short stature.

Materials and methods: The research was performed on the group of 30 patients with GHD (average age 10.6±0.7 years old) and 21 children with short stature with normal serum level of GH (9.4±0.6 years old). Laboratory analysis included the assessment of cytokines serum concentration, levels of lipid parameters and glucose and IGF1 values. The expression of omentin-1, vaspin, and visfatin were analyzed by BioVendor ELISA reader. To analyze statistically significant differences occurring among the groups we used ANOVA and Mann–Whitney U nonparametric tests and Pearsons correlation coefficient.

Results: In patients with GHD we observed a significant elevation of vaspin and visfatin concentration in comparison to control group (vaspin – 6.4±2.6 vs 0.67±0.43; P<0.046; visfatin – 4.91±0.62 vs 2.97±0.4; P<0.05). However, serum level of visfatin was major in female group with GHD in opposite to female control group. The analysis of omentin-1 showed increased levels of that cytokine in group with GHD in comparison to the control, but it was not statistic value (561.46±54.85 vs 530.96±59.81; NS). Levels of lipids and glucose were similar in both groups. We observed lower level of IGF1 in patients with GHD (119.37±18.76 vs 151.33±36.2; NS). BMI (S.D.) was higher in children with GHD, but it was not statistic value.

Conclusion: In conclusion, both vaspin and visfatin cytokines may connect with developing of adiposity in children with GHD. These adipokines may seem be more sensitive in progress excessive intra-fat tissue in patients with GHD.