Related Experiment Videos
[Serial evaluation of blood polyamines in children treated with growth hormone]
Insights
Blood polyamine levels in children change with age, peaking in infancy and puberty. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) boosts these levels, suggesting polyamines are key to growth and HGH action.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
Abstract:
Blood polyamines were evaluated in normal children of various ages (from infancy to adolescence). Polyamines show a distinctive pattern: maximal values were observed during infancy; they decrease during childhood and again increase at puberty. After i.m. injection of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), polyamine concentrations increase significantly in the first 60 minutes. Polyamines increase more in patients previously untreated or treated intermittently with HGH than in patients under continuous treatment. The results suggest that in humans as well as in animals, polyamines could be involved in the growth processes and that the effect of HGH probably consists in a stimulation of polyamine synthesis.