Growth factors in short-bowel syndrome patients.

Malabsorption is a key finding in patients with short-bowel syndrome. Malabsorption of nonessential and essential nutrients, fluids, and electrolytes, if not compensated for by increased intake, leads to diminished body stores and subclinical and (eventually) clinical deficiencies. After intestinal resection, adaptation (a spontaneous progressive recovery from the malabsorptive disorder) may be evident. This article describes selected factors responsible for the morphologic and functional changes in the adaptive processes and presents results of clinical trials that use either growth hormone or glucagon-like peptide-2 to facilitate a condition of hyperadaptation in short-bowel patients.