Growth hormone-induced reduction of soluble apoptosis mediators is associated with reverse cardiac remodelling and improvement of exercise capacity in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Objective Recent experimental and clinical data indicate that abnormal inflammatory and apoptotic processes contribute to the progression of chronic heart failure (CHF). We sought to study the effects of growth hormone (GH) on circulating soluble apoptosis mediators, and to investigate whether these GH-induced anti-apoptotic effects are associated with the reduction of left ventricular (LV) volumes and attenuation of exercise intolerance in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) patients.Methods Plasma tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), its soluble receptors sTNFRI and sTNFRII, and plasma apoptosis mediators soluble Fas (sFas) and sFas Ligand (sFAsL) were measured (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) in 12 IDC patients (NYHA III; LVEF: 24±2%) before and after a 3-month subcutaneous administration of GH 4IU every other day (randomized, crossover design). Peak oxygen uptake (VO2max), as well as LV volume indices, wall thickness, and endsystolic wall stress (ESWS) were also determined at the same period.Resul...