The effect of hGH deficiency on the insulin response to glucagon after oral glucose loading.

Six children and adolescents (aged from 2 6/12 to 16 years) with isolated hGH deficiency were subjected to a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) followed by the administration of IV glucagon at 180 mins. Three of them underwent a second test after several months of hGH therapy. Nine patients underwent a separate IV glucagon test and two of these patients had both tests.

The purification and characterization of a lipolytic factor from bovine pituitaries.

During the purification of a bovine growth hormone preparation (S408A) a yet unknown lipolytic peptide as obtained. This substance was subjected to CM cellulose chromatography followed by differential precipitation with trichloracetic acid. The resulting purified peptide was homogenous on disk electrophoresis and consisted of 36 amino acids with a molecular weight of 4.

The LH and FSH responses to LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) in girls with true precocious puberty treated with cyproterone acetate.

Ten girls with precocious puberty ranging in age from 7 to 10 7/12 years who were treated with oral cyproterone acetate on a long term basis, were subjected to LH-RH tests, prior to and 3 to 16 months after the institution of therapy. Cyproterone acetate was given in doses from 60 to 153 mg/m2, which proved to be clinically effective, as evidenced by the slowing down of sexual maturation. The basal levels of LH were found to be unaffected by therapy and corresponded to the pubertal stages of the individual girls.

Plasma LH and FSH response to LRH and plasma testosterone levels in boys with irregular puberty.

Nineteen boys with irregular puberty (IP), defined as a discrepancy of two or more pubertal stages between the criteria for genitalia and that for pubic hair, were subjected to a standard LRH test (50 microng/m2, iv) and the response of gonadotrophins as well as the basal levels of plasma testosterone, LH and FSH were compared to those of boys with normal, regular puberty. When the results were plotted against the pubertal stage for genitalia (Pg), it was found that in the boys with IP the basal plasma testosterone levels were lower and the response of plasma LH to LRH stimulation lesser than in the controls. However, when these parameters were plotted against the pubertal stage for pubic hair (Ph) it was found, that in the boys with IP the plasma testosterone levels were significantly higher and the response of both LH and FSH stimulation greater than in the control group.

Penile size and growth in children and adolescents with isolated gonadotrophin defiency (IGnD).

Penile length and circumference were measured in twenty boys with isolated gonadotrophin deficiency, before and during the administration of androgen therapy. Their age ranged between 3 and 20 years. Considering as normal, measurements above the tenth centile, in all the patients but four the penile length was below normal, and in two it was borderline.

Gonadal function in Bloom's syndrome.

Five patients with Bloom's syndrome aged from 2 8/12 to 27 years, all of whom had hypogonadism, were subjected to an i.v. LHRH test and two of them to an i.

The combined effect of growth hormone and methandrostenolone on the linear growth of patients with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies.

Six patients with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD) were initially treated with separate courses of methandrostenolone and growth hormone and later with the two drugs combined. During the basal period the mean growth velocity was 2.8 cm/year.

Increased densities and calcifications in the finger bones of children.

A feature of irregular calcifications and increased densities in the metaphyseal region of the fingers of the hand in adolescent children, occurring mostly in males, is described. These changes become evident at puberty and disappear with the closure of the epiphyses. The etiology of this feature does not appear to be related to a specific hormone.

Response of plasma LH and FSH to synthetic LH-RH in children at various pubertal stages.

Fifty normal boys and 47 normal girls, aged 5 to 18 years, underwent a standard luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) test (50 mug/sq m by rapid intravenous injection), and the plasma levels of LH and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined. The results were analyzed separately according to the pubertal stages for each sex. A wide range of distribution of the individual measurements of the plasma gonadotropins throughout the LH-RH tests was found, but the mean values of the basal and peak levels showed a definite pattern for each sex at the different pubertal stages.

The influence of oral glucose loading on the insulin response to i.v. glucagon in children and adolescents.

Fourteen children and adolescents with slight constitutional growth retardation (12 males and two females) aged from 7 1/2 to 18 1/2 yr underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT 1.75 g/Kg followed at 180 min by an i.v.

Cyproterone acetate in treatment of precocious puberty.

Twenty-nine children (23 girls, 6 boys) with precocious puberty were treated with cyproterone acetate for various periods of time ranging from 6 months to 3 years 4 months. They received an oral dose ranging from 70-150 mg/m2 per day, or an intramuscular depot injection once a fortnight or once a month at a dose ranging from 107-230 mg/m2. Both forms of therapy were found to suppress the signs of sexual maturation, but the oral form proved to be superior.

Height and weight of children born to mothers with diabetes mellitus.

Height and weight measurements in a group of 55 children born to mothers with juvenile, adult-onset or gestational diabetes mellitus showed that the children born to parents of European or American origin were taller than average. The talles children were those born to mothers with juvenile diabetes mellitus. The distribution of weight-height indexes followed a normal pattern.

Glucose and insulin responses to an oral glucose load in normal children and adolescents in Israel.

Sixty-three normal, healthy children and adolescents (39 males and 24 females) ranging in age from 2 to 20 years, were given a standard oral glucose tolerance test. A tendency to higher blood glucose levels and a statistically significant increase in insulin levels were found in the older age group in response to the glucose load. The older age group showed a significantly higher response of both glucose and insulin when separate percentile curves for prepubertal and pubertal boys and girls were constructed.

Human chorionic gonadotropin stimulation of Leydig cell function in puberty. Comparison of testosterone response in plasma and urine.

The plasma and urinary testosterone response to one i.m. injection of 5,000 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was tested in 45 children and adolescents of several diagnostic entities: testosterone was measured before the injection and on the second, fourth and sixth days thereafter.

The effect of repeated injections of synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone on the response of plasma luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone in young hypogonadotropic-hypogonadal patients.

Sixteen patients, ages 14 to 18, eleven with isolated gonadotropin deficiency and five with sporadic multiple pituitary hormone deficiency, were subjected to a course of five daily intramuscular injections of synthetic luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH), 100 mug/day. Before and after the course of intramuscular injections, a rapid LH-RH test (by a one-bolus intravenous injection of 50 mug/sq m) was performed and the responses of plasma LH and follicle-stimulating hormone were measured by a radioimmunoassay method. The patients could be divided into three groups according to the response of the plasma LH to the second LH-RH test: group A, five patients with a significantly higher response of plasma LH to the second LH-RH test: group B, nine patients with a less significantly higher response of the plasma LH to the second LH-RH test; and group C, two patients with very low or no response to either stimulation used in this study.

Receptor-active growth hormone in Laron dwarfism.

The hepatic radioreceptor assay for hGH has been applied to the detection of hGH in the sera of patients with high growth hormone dwarfism (Laron dwarfism). Substantial quantities of receptor-active hGH were found in the sera of all 7 patients studied. In one patient, arginine infusion elicited a prompt increase in both immunoactive and receptor-active hGH.