A fat tissue signal was higher in people with low growth hormone
Original title: Association between adipose (pro)renin receptor expression and growth hormone deficiency in patients with non-functioning hypothalamic-pituitary masses.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a small study that only measured tissue taken from patients, not a treatment.
The short version
In a small study, people with low growth hormone had more of a certain protein signal in their belly fat.
What was studied. Researchers studied fifteen adults who were having pituitary surgery for a growth in or near the pituitary gland. During surgery, doctors took a small piece of fat from under the skin of the belly. They tested it for a receptor called (P)RR.
What they found. 8 of the patients had growth hormone deficiency. Their fat tissue showed more (P)RR activity than the fat of the other patients. More (P)RR activity also went along with a higher body weight for height, and with more body fat. The link to growth hormone deficiency was still there after the researchers took body weight into account.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Low growth hormone often comes with weight gain. This study offers one possible reason why. It points to (P)RR in fat tissue as something worth studying more. For now it does not change any treatment or test you would be offered.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. It is an early study, and it only measured a signal in tissue. Nothing was tested or given to patients. It was done in only fifteen people at one point in time, so it cannot prove what causes what. It is not a cure, and it is a long way from everyday care.
Source: PubMed, July 16, 2026 · Read the original
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