Changes in lipoprotein(a) levels measured by six kit methods during growth hormone treatment of growth hormone-deficient adults.

Abstract

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, has previously been reported to increase, decrease or show no change in growth hormone (GH)-deficient individuals receiving GH replacement. To assess whether these inconsistencies could be attributed to differences in immunoassay methods, Lp(a) was measured by six commercial kits at 0, 3, 6 and 9 months in nine GH-deficient individuals (median age 68.3 years, six male) during 9 months GH therapy. There was a significant rise in Lp(a) with the INCStar immunoturbidimetric (IT) method and the Mercodia enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (P