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Comparative Analysis of Human Growth Hormone in Serum Using SPRi, Nano-SPRi and ELISA Assays
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Comparative Analysis of Human Growth Hormone in Serum Using SPRi, Nano-SPRi and ELISA Assays

Published on: January 7, 2016

Growth hormone responses to sleep, insulin hypoglycaemia and arginine infusion

P S Ward, D C Savage

    Hormone Research
    |January 1, 1985
    PubMed

    Insights

    Peak serum growth hormone (GH) levels during sleep correlate with GH responses to insulin and arginine tests in children. Sleep GH testing may be useful when other tests conflict with growth patterns.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Endocrinology
    • Sleep Medicine
    • Growth Hormone Physiology

    Background:

    • Growth hormone (GH) secretion is crucial for normal childhood growth.
    • Assessing GH status often involves provocative testing and evaluating sleep-induced GH release.
    • Discrepancies between these methods can complicate diagnosis in children with growth concerns.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To compare peak serum GH concentrations during slow wave sleep with GH responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia and intravenous arginine infusion.
    • To evaluate the correlation between sleep-related GH secretion and GH release stimulated by pharmacological agents.
    • To determine the clinical utility of sleep GH measurements when provocative tests yield conflicting results.

    Main Methods:

    • Serum GH levels were measured during slow wave sleep in 23 children.
    • GH responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia and intravenous arginine infusion were assessed.
    • Correlations between sleep GH and stimulated GH levels were analyzed.

    Main Results:

    • Peak serum GH during sleep showed significant positive correlations with GH responses to both insulin-induced hypoglycemia (r=0.64, p<0.01) and arginine infusion (r=0.57, p<0.01).
    • Three children exhibited subnormal sleep GH but normal responses to provocative tests.
    • One child had normal sleep GH but subnormal responses to both insulin and arginine challenges.

    Conclusions:

    • Sleep GH measurements correlate well with standard provocative tests for GH secretion in children.
    • Sleep GH assessment can provide valuable diagnostic information, particularly when results from pharmacological stimuli are inconsistent with clinical growth patterns.
    • Sleep studies may be indicated to clarify GH secretion status in select pediatric cases.

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