Abstract
Children with CDGP exhibit a characteristic pattern of growth during their infancy and childhood. Some of these patients show a severe deceleration of growth velocity before puberty. Although some authors have suggested that a transitory GH deficiency secretory pattern can be observed at that moment, there is not a universal agreement in this matter. To test the hypothesis of whether or not a diminution in GH secretion strikes before puberty in children with CDGP, we studied the spontaneous GH secretory profile by measuring GH plasma levels at 30 minute intervals for 24 hr in 107 prepubertal children (Tanner I stage); 37 children were controls (24 boys and 13 girls) and 70 were patients with CDGP (44 boys and 26 girls). The group of patients with CDGP was divided into two subgroups: 1) Children with diminished growth velocity (DGV) (n=20; 12 boys and 8 girls) and 2) Patients with normal growth velocity (NGV) (n=50; 32 boys and 18 girlls). GH values were subjected to a Cluster® analysis program to simultaneously estimate endogenous secretion of GH. frequency and amplitude of GH bursts in 24 hr. No significant differences were found among the different groups of subjects (ANOVA®) regarding the mean levels of GH in 24 hr (MGH), the number of secretory bursts (NB). the height of the maximum peak (MP), the pulsatile area of GH secretion (PA) or in the total area of GH secretion (TA). In addition, the frequency of MGH < 3 ng/ml was similar in all experimental groups (λ2) (Table).
Conclusion: Patients in the prepubertal period of life with CDGP exhibit a spontaneous GH secretion that is quantitatively similar to normal children in the same period of life. Hence, we postulate that the decrease of growth velocity that some patients with CDGP show is not due to a transitory GH deficiency.
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Pozo, J., Argente, J., Barrios, V. et al. PATIENTS WITH CONSTITUTIONAL DELAY OF GROWTH AND PUBERTY (CDGP) DO NOT EXHIBIT AN ABNORMAL PATTERN OF GROWTH HORMONE (GH) SECRETION, INDEPENDENT OF THEIR GROWTH VELOCITY (GV). Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S85 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00490
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00490