Related Experiment Videos
Circadian growth hormone secretion in short multitransfused prepubertal children with thalassaemia major
G Katzos1, F Harsoulis, M Papadopoulou
1Department of Paediatrics, Aristotle University, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Insights
Growth hormone (GH) neurosecretory dysfunction is not common in children with beta-thalassaemia major. Pituitary iron deposits may influence GH secretion in these patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Hematology
- Growth Hormone Research
Background:
- Children with beta-thalassaemia major (TM) often experience growth issues.
- Assessing growth hormone (GH) secretion is crucial for understanding growth disturbances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare GH secretion profiles in prepubertal children with TM and non-GH deficient short stature (NGHDSS).
- To investigate the prevalence of GH neurosecretory dysfunction in children with TM.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 24-hour circadian GH profiles.
- Assessed GH response to clonidine stimulation and insulin tolerance tests (ITT).
- Compared GH parameters like peak levels, number of peaks, and area under the curve (AUC).
Main Results:
- All patients exhibited normal hypoglycemic response to ITT.
- GH peak levels and 24-hour secretion parameters were similar between TM and NGHDSS groups.
- Abnormal GH profiles were found in 2/9 TM children and 4/7 NGHDSS children.
Conclusions:
- GH neurosecretory dysfunction is not a universal finding in children with TM.
- Pituitary iron deposition may play a role in GH secretion abnormalities in TM.
Unlabelled:
Growth hormone (GH) secretion was determined by evaluating circadian GH profiles for 24 h and GH responses to clonidine stimulation test and insulin-stimulated hypoglycaemia (ITT), in nine prepubertal children with beta-thalassaemia major (TM) and 17 with non-GH deficient short stature (NGHDSS). The TM children were multitransfused and had early and intensive chelation therapy. All patients had normal hypoglycaemia to ITT, with peak GH levels of 15.71 +/- 5.86 ng/ml for children with NGHDSS and 13.91 +/- 7.20 ng/ml for children with TM. Peak GH levels during a clonidine test were 17.54 +/- 5.30 and 17.15 +/- 1.38 ng/ml, respectively. The GH peak parameters such as the number of peaks, the integrated GH concentration and the area under the curve (AUC) were similar in both groups of children and reflected the total 24-h secretion and the daily and nocturnal secretion separately. An abnormal 24-h GH profile compatible with the diagnosis of endogenous neurosecretory GH dysfunction was found in only two out of nine children with TM and in four out of seven children with NGHDSS.
Conclusion:
Our data suggest that growth hormone neurosecretory dysfunction is not a universal finding in children with thalassaemia major but might depend on the degree of iron deposit in the pituitary.