Abstract
It has been shown that panhypopituitarism or GHD is associated with decreased red cell volume (RCV), blood (BV) and plasma volume (PV) (Rodriguez and Shahidi, NEJM 285: 479, 1971). No data regarding the effect of growth hormone supplementation on BV in children with GHD have been reported. We have studied BV (Evans blue) in 24 growth-retarded children without endocrine abnormalities (I), 14 untreated (II) and 23 HGH-treated children (III) with GHD of similar age (5 to 18 years). The results were as follows: No significant sex differences were found in any group. In 10 patients with GHD studies were performed before and 3 to 6 months after onset of therapy. Mean weight related BV, PV and RCV increased significantly (paired t-test; p 0,001) by 15.2, 14.7, and 17.1%, respectively, to normal values. These observations of low BV in GHD and its restoration to normal values by HGH substitution provide evidence that HGH interferes with the regulation of BV. Informed consent of patients and/or parents was obtained in all cases.- Supported by DFG (SFB 147)
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