Effect of hepatitis-C in adolescents on growth hormone axis, immunoglobulins and thyroid hormones

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in the serum of hepatitis-C in adolescent patients as regard growth hormone, [GH] and insulin growth factor-I [IGF-I] system, immunoglobulin M [IgM] and immunoglobulin G [IgG] and thyroid hormones [T3, T4 and TSH].The study included two groups, each formed of 25 adolescents. Group one formed of hepatitis-c infected adolescent patients and the other group included 25 healthy adolescents as controls. Biochemical and radiochemical analysis revealed significant increase in [GH] serum level [4.7 +/- 4.1 ng/ml] with decrease in [IGF-I] serum level [2.7 +/- 0.7 n mol/l] in hepatitis-c group compared to controls. Immunoglobulin IgC and IgM were also increased, respectively, in comparison to the controls group. Thyroid [T3] was the only hormone significantly increased in hepatitis C group, while T3 and TSH hormone showed no significant changes in HCV patients. These data indicated that HCV infection had an inhibitory effect on liver receptors leading to failure of their binding with GH revealed by high levels of circulating GH. Also, HCV infection affects GH stimulating synthesis of IGF-1. Liver diseases such as HCV frequently associated with thyroid dysfunctions, as failure of [T4] hormone to be converted to the metabolic active form [T3], lead to increase in T4 serum level. Enhancement of initiation of autoimmunity in HCV adolescents also appears through an increase in IgG and IgM serum levels