Recombinant human growth hormone in treatment of diabetes: report of three cases and review of relative literature.

To explore the clinical profile and laboratory changes in three patients with diabetes mellitus treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). Results showed that the patient in the first case was diagnosed as T1DM according to the classical course of disease, weight loss, polyuria, polydispsia, polyphagia, and positive GAD-Ab. The second patient’s plasma glucose and urine glucose were at a high level, then stored immediately with the negative OGTT. But, the level of insulin increased significantly suggesting there is insulin resistance. In the last case, fasting plasma glucose level was higher than 7.0 mmol/l several times. The level of HbA1c increased. In an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting glucose > 7.0 mmol/l, plasma glucose < 7.8 mmol/l two hours after a 75 g oral glucose load. We postulate that the higher than expected incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus with GH treatment may be an acceleration of the disorder in predisposed individuals. The rhGH therapy may eventually induce transitory glucose metabolic disorder in a very small proportion of patients, which was restored gradually after the discontinuance of rhGH.