title: Growth hormone and prolactin secretion after growth hormone-releasing hormone administration, in anorexia nervosa patients, normal controls and tamoxifen-pretreated volunteers.
abstract: Anorexia nervosa is associated with several abnormalities in GH secretion elicited by different stimuli. To investigate the precise mechanism of this alteration, GHRH was administered to 14 women: a group of eight anorexia nervosa patients in the acute phase of their illness and a control group of six age-matched volunteers. As patients with anorexia nervosa have chronic low oestrogen values, the volunteer women of the control group underwent a second GHRH test after pretreatment with the oestrogen receptor blocker tamoxifen. GHRH 1-29 (1 microgram/kg i.v.) induced a GH peak (mean +/- SEM) of 28.2 +/- 5.1 ng/ml (GH ng/ml x 2 = mU/l) at 30 min in the anorectic patients. This value was no different from the GHRH-stimulated GH peak in the control women (28.1 +/- 10.0 ng/ml). Tamoxifen pretreated women had a GH peak after GHRH of 35.6 +/- 9.7 ng/ml, not significant versus control test. Compared with the control group, oestrogen levels were significantly lower in anorectic patients and higher in tamoxifen-treated women. GHRH administration induced a small PRL peak at 15 min that was similar in the three groups tested. After this 15 min peak, PRL in both anorexic and tamoxifen-treated women returned toward basal values steadily. However, in untreated control women a second PRL peak was evident at 60 min. In conclusion, GHRH-induced GH secretion in anorexia nervosa patients was similar to that in control subjects and in controls under oestrogen receptor blockade.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006801:Humans; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011388:Prolactin / Q000378:metabolism*; D017337:Sermorelin; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D013629:Tamoxifen; D017337:Sermorelin; D011388:Prolactin; D013006:Growth Hormone; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone