PHYSIOLOGICAL GROWTH HORMONE SECRETION DURING SLOW-WAVE SLEEP IN SHORT PREPUBERTAL CHILDREN

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Abstract
The usefulness of a limited nocturnal GH profile has been evaluated for the assessment of physiological GH secretion. We have analysed the complete overnight GH and sleep profiles of 20 short prepubertal children, sampled at 15‐min intervals. The mean age was 9.1 years (range 4.3‐11.7 years) and mean height velocity standard deviation score (SDS) ‐ 1 0 (range ‐ 2.4 to + 0.4). The sleep stage in which the maximal GH value was reached varied considerably between the patients. Only 55% achieved the maximal GH value during the first slow‐wave sleep period, and 65% in the first 2 h of sleep. The maximal values during the first slow‐wave period correlated weakly with the sum of the nocturnal peak values and the total area under the curve of the complete GH profile. None of these parameters correlated with height velocity. We conclude that at present there is no substitute for complete overnight or 24 h GH profiles for the assessment of physiological GH secretion, but the clinical significance of the variations seen remains unclear.