Abstract
We have studied physiological growth hormone secretion in 11 (6M, 5F) short prenubertal children, age range 2.2 - 13-5 years, with psychosocial dwarfism. All patients were admitted to hospital, as a more favourable environment, as part of their medical assessment with limited parental access. 5 had been sexually abused which was only discovered during their hospital admission. An assessment of physiological growth hormone secretion was commenced within 1 hour of admission. A second assessment was made between 4 and 9 days with a third assessment at the end of the 3 week admission. All growth hormone serum profiles were obtained at 15 minute intervals for 18 hours duration between 1300 and 0700 hours. After stationarisation of the profile data, analysis was by Fournier transformation as a time series analysis to examine the frequency and amplitude of growth hormone pulses. Growth hormone insufficiency was observed during the first day of admission. This was reversible during the 3 weeks in hospital, although there was evidence that reversibility occurred in some children within 18 hours of admission to hospital. The dominant growth hormone secretory periodicity was between 120 and 165 minutes and showed no alteration during the 3 sampling occasions. However absolute spectrum power, which reflects the amplitude of the oscillatory signal, increased from 45 to 70 units. Despite changes in growth hormone pulse amplitude, profiles from an individual child showed characteristic “finger printing” with a reproducible pattern of pulses. Our findings demonstrate some important aspects about the investigation of children with psychosocial dwarfism as well as contributing to our knowledge of the pathophysiology of growth hormone secretory dynamics.
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Albanese, A., Hamill, G., Jones, J. et al. REVERSIBILITY OF PHYSIOLOGICAL GROWTH HORMONE SECRETION IN CHILDREN WITH PSYCHOSOCIAL DWAREISM. Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S33 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00177
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00177