Secondary Growth Hormone Deficiency That Developed into Cirrhosis after Several Years of Interrupted Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy

Intern Med. 2025 Feb 1;64(3):387-391. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.3896-24. Epub 2024 Jun 27.

Abstract

This case report describes a patient who received hormone replacement therapy for secondary panhypopituitarism and subsequently developed diabetes. His physician decided to discontinue growth hormone (GH) replacement, which was previously deemed contraindicated. Following the diagnosis of fatty liver, the patient began to exhibit liver damage that progressed over the ensuing years, ultimately leading to cirrhosis. Common factors linked to cirrhosis were excluded, leading to the belief that GH deficiency over several years was the primary contributor to cirrhosis. Therefore, when treating patients with GH insufficiency and diabetes, clinicians should carefully consider the potential implications of GH replacement therapy.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus; growth hormone; liver cirrhosis; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; replacement therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Hormone Replacement Therapy* / adverse effects
  • Human Growth Hormone* / adverse effects
  • Human Growth Hormone* / deficiency
  • Human Growth Hormone* / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Hypopituitarism* / complications
  • Hypopituitarism* / drug therapy
  • Liver Cirrhosis* / diagnosis
  • Liver Cirrhosis* / etiology
  • Male
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Human Growth Hormone