The relationship of growth hormone to alveolar ridge atrophy in an older male nursing home population

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Abstract
Alveolar bone development has been shown by other investigators to be sensitive to growth hormone concentration in both humans and rodents. Many elderly people are deficient in growth hormone. The cyclic variation in plasma growth hormone concentration that complicates growth hormone measurement is not seen in the plasma somatomedin C (SmC) concentration. Furthermore, SmC is a dependable indicator of growth hormone secretion. It has been established that an SmC level of 0.24 or less is associated with decreased muscle mass and kidney size. We have investigated the relationship of the alveolar bone/supporting (basal) bone (A/B) ratio to the SmC in an elderly male population. These data suggest that growth hormone secretion is not the sole determinant of alveolar bone retention.

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