title: Urinary growth hormone during puberty in normal and diabetic children.
abstract: The measurement of GH in urine may have many clinical applications, particularly in childhood. We have used a highly sensitive direct immunoradiometric assay to examine urinary GH excretion in children during puberty. Fifty-five healthy schoolchildren collected timed overnight urine samples. A further 36 children (15 normal, six of short stature and 15 diabetic) collected urine samples during a total of 50 overnight plasma GH secretory profiles (15-min sampling). Overnight urinary GH excretion increased during puberty, with a peak at breast stage 2 in girls, and genital stage 4 in boys, before declining at stage 5. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.57, p = 0.003) with height velocity in girls, but not in boys. At each puberty stage except 2, the diabetics excreted more urinary GH than the normal children. There was a highly significant correlation (r = 0.79, p less than 0.001) between mean overnight plasma GH concentrations and urinary GH excretion, suggesting that the latter accurately reflects physiological GH secretion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Edge
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hourd
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Dunger
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D015592:Immunoradiometric Assay; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D013006:Growth Hormone