Twelve-hour Spontaneous Nocturnal Growth Hormone Secretion in Growth Retarded Patients

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Abstract
Twelve-hour nocturnal GH secretion was studied in 30 children with familial short stature (FSS), constitutional growth delay (CGD), total growth hormone deficiency (TGHD), partial growth hormone deficiency (PGHD), or idiopathic short stature (ISS). No difference was observed between subjects with FSS and children wtih CGD. The mean 12-hour serum GH concentration was significantly lower in patients with TGHD (p < 0.001), children with PGHD (p < 0.01), and subjects with ISS (p < 0.01) than in subjects with FSS and CGD. No overlap was observed between the range of mean concentration values of children with TGHD and that of subjects with FSS. A significant correlation was found between growth velocity expressed as SD from the mean for bone age and GH concentration (p < 0.001). All patients with a growth velocity <3rd percentile for bone age showed a mean nocturnal concentration <4 ng/ml. These data suggest that evaluation of 12-hour spontaneous nocturnal GH secretion with GH sampling every 30 minutes can be usefully employed in the diagnosis of GH deficiency.