Background/Aims: Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is an anabolic hormone synthesized in the liver whose levels decrease sharply in liver cirrhosis. Methods: We conducted a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effect of subcutaneous administration of IGF-I (20 μ g/kg/day with dose escalation to 50-100 μ g/kg/day) for 4 months in patients with alcoholic or primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and subnormal IGF-I levels. Eight alcoholics and one PBC entered the placebo group and seven alcoholics and two PBC the treatment group. Biochemistry, body composition, muscle mass and strength, and resting energy expenditure (REE) were evaluated. Results: Total serum IGF-I and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 ratio (a surrogate marker of IGFI biovailability) increased in the treatment group but IGF-I values still remained below normal limits in the treated patients. No differences were observed in body composition, muscle strength or muscle mass between groups. However, IGF-I therapy increased significantly serum albumin (P = 0.038) and this improvement correlated positively with variation of IGFI/ IGFBP-3 ratio. IGF-I treatment also tended to increase REE (P = 0.085); this difference was significant (P = 0.049) in the subgroup of alcoholic patients. Conclusions: A short course of IGF-I increased albumin levels and tended to improve energy metabolism in liver cirrhosis. These findings warrant larger clinical trials to assess the clinical benefit of IGF-I in cirrhotic patients.
展开▼
