Urinary GH secretion correlates with plasma GH levels during sleep and GHRH stimulation tests but not during the L-dopa stimulation test in prepubertal children.
In order to assess the value of urinary growth hormone (GH) as a reflection of central GH release, 42 prepubertal children with short stature and without organic disease were studied. A nocturnal GH profile and L-dopa and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) tests were performed. Urinary GH was measured by means of a direct immunoradiometric method we have developed, using two monoclonal antibodies. Nocturnal urinary GH values correlated positively with plasma GH values expressed as the area under the curve (r = 0.76; p = 0.0001) or mean peak amplitude (r = 0.73; p = 0.0001). Also, urinary GH values correlated positively with peak plasma GH levels during the GHRH test (r = 0.64; p = 0.001). In contrast, no correlation was observed between peak plasma GH and urinary GH during the L-dopa test (r = 0.29; p = 0.11). This suggests a specific but as yet undetermined effect of L-dopa on urinary GH secretion.
Porquet
D
D
Service de Biochimie-Hormonologie, Hôpital Robert-Debré, Paris, France.
Fjellestad-Paulsen
A
A
Leger
J
J
Simon
D
D
Czernichow
P
P
Evain-Brion
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000652:urine; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000652:urine*; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology
D007980:Levodopa; D013006:Growth Hormone; D013007:Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone