Growth hormone treatment in growth hormone-deficient adults. II. Effects on exercise performance

treatment in growth hormone-deficient adults. II. Effects on exer-cise performance. J. Appl. Physiol. 70(2): 695-700, 1991.-Growth hormone (GH) treatment in adults with GH deficiency increases lean body mass and thigh muscle cross-sectional area. The functional significance of this was examined by in-cremental cycle ergometry in 24 GH-deficient adults treated in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial with recombinant DNA human GH (rhGH) for 6 mo (0.07 U/kg body wt daily). Com-pared with placebo, the rhGH group increased mean maximal 0, uptake (00, m,) (+406 t 71 vs. +133 t 84 ml/min; P = 0.016) and maximal power output (+24.6 t 4.3 vs. +9.7 t, 4.8 W; P = 0.047), without differences in maximal heart rate or venti-lation. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, vital capacity, and corrected CO gas transfer were within normal limits and did not change with treatment. Mean predicted Vozmax, based o