Spontanes Wachstumshormonsekretionsprofil

Abstract

Growth hormone neurosecretory dysfunction (NSD) can only be diagnosed by the analysis of a spontaneous growth hormone (GH) secretion profile over a defined period of time. Since the procedure is not regulated uniformly, examination periods of 2-24 h with blood withdrawal intervals of 10-30 min can be encountered. To answer the question of whether the analysis of spontaneous GH secretion over 2.6 h after falling asleep is comparable to that over 10 h, we recalculated the datasets of 60 children with a diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD, n=20), NSD (n=20) and idiopathic short stature (ISS, n=20). We analysed GH values in blood specimens taken every 20 min from 8 pm to 6 am. All calculations were made using PULSAR program. All children with GHD had a pathological GH secretion values, whereas children with NSD had significantly higher GH values after 2.6 h than after 10 h. The analysis of spontaneous GH secretion over a period of 2.6 h after falling asleep seems to be insufficient for the diagnosis of NSD. This complex diagnostic procedure should be left to hospitals which have the prerequisites to perform a GH secretion profile over at least 10 h.