These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: A practical approach to the diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in patients transitioning to adulthood using GH stimulation testing.
    Author: Styne DM.
    Journal: J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab; 2003 May; 16 Suppl 3():637-43. PubMed ID: 12795366.
    Abstract:
    To establish the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (GHD), GH-deficient children transitioning to adulthood are evaluated by two separate stimuli 2 or more weeks after ceasing GH therapy. While 20-88% of children diagnosed with idiopathic GHD retest with normal values, those with proven genetic defects in GH production/secretion/bioactivity and patients with panhypopituitarism consistently test deficient. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines GHD in adults by stimulated peak serum GH concentrations <5 ng/ml if measured by polyclonal radioimmunoassays (RIA) or lower if measured by monoclonal assays. Some investigators define severe GHD by a peak GH concentration <3 ng/ml. Adult responses to arginine and glucagon testing are similar to the responses to insulin tolerance testing; clonidine, pyridostigmine, and galanin cause lesser peaks of GH. Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) combined with arginine, GH releasing peptide-6 (GHRP-6), or hexarelin leads to higher peak responses than GHRH alone. Thus the choice of testing methods impacts the diagnosis of GHD in transition patients.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]