Most people were treated with pituitary hGH because their pituitary glands did not make enough of their own GH. Some of these people also had problems making other pituitary hormones. One of these hormones tells the adrenal glands to make cortisol, a hormone needed for life. People lacking this hormone are at risk of death from adrenal crisis, but adrenal crisis can be prevented. More pituitary hGH recipients have died from adrenal crisis than from CJD. Pituitary hGH did not cause adrenal problems, but some people who received hGH have a pituitary problem that puts them at risk for adrenal crisis. Please read the health alert and discuss this information with your doctor.
                
Besides CJD, no other serious or fatal health risks from pituitary hGH treatment have been found.
                
Mad Cow Disease
                
Starting in 1996, reports of a new form of CJD in young people who lived in the United Kingdom have raised concerns worldwide.
                
Since at least 1985, some cattle in the United Kingdom have developed a disease called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow" disease. "Mad cow" disease is a sickness in cattle that is caused by an agent that is similar, but not identical, to the agents that cause the most common forms of CJD in people. Individuals who consume products made from cattle infected with the agent that causes "mad cow" disease can become infected with the agent themselves and develop the human form of "mad cow" disease, called variant CJD (vCJD). In humans, vCJD and the more common forms of CJD (those without the word "variant") are separate diseases. As of November 2012, 227 cases of vCJD were confirmed worldwide, mostly from the United Kingdom. Researchers believe all but three of these 227 individuals got vCJD by eating beef from animals with "mad cow" disease. The three exceptions were persons who are believed to have developed vCJD because they received infected blood from a donor who had acquired the agent by eating beef from animals with "mad cow" disease.
                
In the United States, three cases of vCJD have been found. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the investigation of these three cases indicated that they most likely acquired their infection in the United Kingdom (two cases) and Saudi Arabia (one case).
                
People who received pituitary hGH are not at higher risk for vCJD.
                
AIDS
                
HIV, also known as the human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS. Pituitary hGH does not cause AIDS. HIV is destroyed by the methods used to make pituitary hGH. People who have been treated with pituitary hGH do not have a higher risk for AIDS.
                
Low Levels of GH in Adults
                
Some people who received pituitary hGH as children may have low levels of GH as adults and might therefore benefit from bGH as adults. People with low levels of growth hormone as adults may have symptoms or changes like these:
                
- more body fat  - less muscle  - less bone mass  - less strength  - less energy
                
If you lacked GH as a child and have these problems as an adult, ask your doctor whether they might be due to low GH. Because these conditions are common in many people, they are not always due to low GH. Studies have shown that GH treatment in adults with low GH reduces fat and increases muscle mass. Effects on strength, energy, and bone fractures in GH-deficient adults receiving GH replacement are not as clear.
                
Today, GH is completely synthetic. It is not made from human pituitaries. It poses no threat of contamination. The Human Growth Foundation (HGF) is one source of information about growth-related disorders. The Foundation can be reached at 18004516434.
                
Cancer
                
HHS studies of people treated with pituitary hGH supplied by the NHPP show no increased risk of cancer in those who did not have tumors before pituitary hGH treatment. Many people who received NHPP pituitary hGH had brain tumors that caused their lack of GH. People who have had one tumor have an increased risk for getting other tumors.
                
In previous updates, we reported that in 1988, Japanese doctors reported an increased risk of leukemia in people treated with GH. Subsequent studies of individuals who were given pituitary hGH in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom found no higher rate of leukemia among those who did not have tumors and/or radiation before treatment with pituitary hGH.
                
Emotional Problems
                
No studies have shown that pituitary hGH causes changes in personality, emotional problems, or suicide.