Abstract

Growth hormone secretagogues (GHSs) are synthetically produced peptides and non-peptides that stimulate growth hormone (GH) release by acting on one or more specific receptors. Treatment with GH itself is established in GH deficient children and adults and may also be useful in frail, elderly adults, in abdominally/viscerally obese subjects, in patients with congestive heart failure and in patients suffering from nitrogen-wasting catabolic disease. In these conditions, the newly developed class of orally-active GHSs may be attractive alternatives to sc. GH injections. This review focuses on recently patented GHSs and their claimed indications, however, other GHSs and their possible uses have also been included.