Changes within the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I/IGF binding protein axis during critical illness

Interest in the somatotropic axis, with its complex network of interactions, during critical illness arose only a few decades ago. The distinguishing neuroendocrine features of prolonged critical illness were not differentiated from those during the acute phase until the early 1990s. This incomplete understanding of the somatotropic axis contributed to some disastrous results, such as the multicenter growth hormone trial. The goal of stimulating the somatotropic axis without a proper preceding neuroendocrine diagnosis should be held obsolete. Moreover, the fascinating link between regulators of carbohydrate metabolism, such as insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1, and the somatotropic axis may lead to future therapeutic possibilities.