Intravenous diazepam fails to change growth hormone and cortisol secretion in humans

Some, but not all studies have reported that a single dose of benzodiazepine affects growth hormone (GH) and cortisol secretion in healthy volunteers. The majority of studies that found GH elevations after benzodiazepine administration did not use placebo trials. The present placebo-controlled investigation determined plasma GH and cortisol levels after intravenous administration of diazepam (0.15 mg/kg) to 10 healthy volunteers. Neither GH nor cortisol secretion changed significantly after diazepam infusion. The lack of placebo trials and the presence of elevated baseline GH values may have been responsible for peak GH elevations reported in previous studies.