Study hypothesis:
Growth hormone (GH), through its generation of free 'bioavailable' insulin-like growth factor
(IGF)-I, can improve insulin sensitivity and the metabolic profile of women with polycystic
ovary syndrome.
Study aims:
To determine the mechanism of how low dose GH treatment affects the body's sensitivity to
insulin actions and whether this low GH dose can affect the body's handling of steroid
hormone levels (cortisol clearance) and testosterone (male hormones) in obese women with
polycystic ovary syndrome.
Study design:
Obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome, but not recently been on GH treatment, and
presently attending Outpatients Clinic will be invited to participate in this study. The
subjects will be assessed at the initial visit to ascertain their suitability before further
participating in the study. If suitable, an equal number of women will be randomized to
receive either daily low dose GH or placebo injections first for 12 weeks, before exchanging
over for another 12 weeks of treatment after a 4-week washout period. Before, during and
after treatment, the subjects will be assessed at frequently with blood tests, scans and fat
biopsies. During the study, the subjects will be studied 4 times at the Oregon Clinical and
Translational Research Institute (OCTRI). At the first, second and final visit, testing will
include scans to measure the amount of whole body fat and fat in the stomach area, muscle,
and liver; blood tests to measure levels of cortisol, and fat tissue (taken from a biopsy)
analysis to measure the density of insulin-like growth factor-I (a hormone stimulated by
growth hormone in the body) in fat; whereas blood tests to examine how well insulin works in
the body (insulin sensitivity) will be collected at all visits of the study.