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The Somatopause

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Growth Hormone and Somatomedins during Lifespan

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) secretion declines during normal aging, resulting in lower circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I. The mechanism for this decrement in GH status is complex. Although the physiologic sequelae to decreased somatotrope function are not fully understood, many of the catabolic changes seen in normal aging, including osteopenia, muscle atrophy, and decreased exercise tolerance, may in part be caused by the decreased action of the GH-IGF-I axis. The age-related decline in the activity of the hypothalamic-somatotrope-IGF axis may thus result in a catabolic diathesis leading to falls, fractures and frailty in the elderly, a syndrome complex which we have named “the somatopause.”

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Authors
  1. A. R. Hoffman
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  2. G. Pyka
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  3. S. A. Lieberman
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  4. G. P. Ceda
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  5. R. Marcus
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli 32, 20129, Milan, Italy

    Eugenio E. Müller (Professor of Pharmacology) & Vittorio Locatelli (Associate Professor of Pharmacology) (Professor of Pharmacology) &  (Associate Professor of Pharmacology)

  2. Pharmaco-biological Institute, University of Bari, 70125, Bari, Italy

    Daniela Cocchi (Professor of Pharmacology) (Professor of Pharmacology)

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hoffman, A.R., Pyka, G., Lieberman, S.A., Ceda, G.P., Marcus, R. (1993). The Somatopause. In: Müller, E.E., Cocchi, D., Locatelli, V. (eds) Growth Hormone and Somatomedins during Lifespan. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78217-6_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78217-6_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78219-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78217-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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