Fatty liver disease is an increasing problem in overweight and obese young adults. The purpose of this study is to test the effect of growth hormone on liver fat in obese young adults ages 18-29y with increased liver fat.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a significant health problem in obese adolescents. Obese children and adolescents have significant reductions in growth hormone secretion, and we hypothesize that augmenting growth hormone in this population will decrease liver fat. Growth hormone inhibits hepatic de novo lipogenesis, which is an important source of hepatic lipid. Patients with pituitary GH deficiency have a higher prevalence of NAFLD and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) than the general population, and replacement of GH in these individuals reduces signs of liver damage. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that growth hormone treatment will decrease liver fat quantity in young adults who begin the trial with more than 5% liver fat measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Inclusion criteria:

1. Males and Females ages 18-29yo
2. BMI ≥95th percentile and/or ≥30kg/m^2
3. Hepatic fat ≥5% by hydrogen magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS)
4. IGF-1 standard deviation score (SDS) < 0

Exclusion criteria:

1. Alcohol consumption of >14 drinks per week (Females) or >21 drinks per week (Males)
2. Use of insulin or oral anti-diabetic medications, or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) >7% or fasting glucose ≥126mg/dL
3. Use of corticosteroid, gonadal steroids, or methotrexate ≤ 3 months prior to baseline visit
4. Known diagnosis of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, Wilson's disease, hemochromatosis, or autoimmune hepatitis
5. hemoglobin < 11.0 g/dL or weight < 50kg
6. aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >2.5x upper limit of normal (ULN), total bilirubin > ULN, positive hepatitis B surface antigen (sAg), or positive hepatitis C antibody
7. Routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exclusion criteria (including weight >450 pounds)
8. Use of weight-loss medications or previous weight loss surgery
9. Pregnant or breastfeeding, or, for sexually-active females, unwillingness to use an appropriate form of contraception during the study
10. Known cirrhosis or clinical evidence of cirrhosis or portal hypertension on imaging or exam
11. Use of growth hormone (GH) or growth hormone releasing hormone within the past 1 year
12. Change in lipid lowering or anti-hypertensive medications within 3 months of screening
13. Change in vitamin E or ursodiol <6 months before screen; subjects on stable doses of Vitamin E and/or Ursodiol for ≥6 months will be eligible.
14. History of malignancy or active malignancy
15. History of hypopituitarism, head irradiation or any other condition or chronic illness known to affect the GH axis

Adverse events were collected from participants while they were enrolled in the 6 month study period.

Participants were asked about adverse events at every study visit. Of note, participants receiving GH were seen for 4 additional visits compared to those receiving no treatment in this open-label study, and thus had more visits at which adverse events were assessed.