SOMATOMEDIN-C LEVELS IN TREATED AND UNTREATED PATIENTS WITH ACROMEGALY

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
With the aid of a recently developed commercially available radioimmunoassay for Somatomedin‐C (Sm‐C) we measured the Sm‐C levels in 38 controls, 24 untreated acromegalics, 45 inactive acromegalics and five pituitary dwarfs. With the exception of the dwarfs, the age and sex distributions for the various groups were similar. In inactive acromegalics the basal GH level (calculated as the mean of four blood samples taken during the day) was < 5 mU/1; it was depressed to, or less than, 2‐5 mU/1 during the 100 g oral glucose tolerance test. The mean Sm‐C level found for control subjects was 20‐4 ± 5.1 nmol/1 and for untreated patients 85‐6 ± 25‐7 nmol/1 (mean ± SD, P 12 mU/1). These results demonstrate that the Sm‐C levels are increased without exception in active acromegaly and normal in inactive patients, so that this measurement can be used for assessment of the activity of the disease.