Failure of postictal growth hormone rise in a patient with thalamic lesions

A patient with bilateral thalamic lesions had a spontaneous generalized convulsion during nocturnal polygraphic recording. Postictal measurements of cortisol and prolactin showed the expected rise of plasma values at 30 and 60 minutes after the seizure, but growth hormone did not increase. This observation suggests that suprahypothalamic mechanisms regulating growth hormone release differ from those involved in the neural control of cortisol-ACTH and prolactin secretion. The thalamus may intervene as a regulatory center in the release of growth hormone.