Role of growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 in development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background And Aims: Pituitary dysfunction including growth hormone (GH) deficiency may be associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Since the relationships among GH, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and development of NAFLD without hypopituitarism are unclear, we examined the role of these hormones in the development of NAFLD based on clinical, laboratory and liver histology data.

Patients And Methods: A total of 55 consecutive patients (20 males and 35 females) with NAFLD.