Characteristics of Acromegalic Patients According to GH Pulse Frequency

Lee, G C; Yang, I M; Woo, J T; Kim, S W; Kim, J W; Kim, Y S; Choi, Y K

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Pulsatile secretion of GH are present in acromegalics and normal men. GH concentration profiles in patients with acromegaly are characterized by rapid GH pulsatility and high interpulse concentrations. There is also variations of GH pulse frequency in individual acromegalic patients. We performed this study to investigate any correlation between GH pulse frequency and clinical or endocrinological findings. Material and
METHODS
We have studied pulse frequency in 18acromegalic patients by modified Santen and Bardin Method through blood sampling every 1hour for 24hours. TRH stimulation test, LHRH stimulaton test, Somatostatin suppression test and bromocriptine suppression test was done in this patients. We sequenced from cordon 184 to cordon 251 of Gsa gene in pituitary tumor tissue of this acromegalic patients. Clinical findings or endocrinological test results studied above matched to GH pulse frequency to find any correlation by simple regression analysis or Chi-square test.
RESULTS
There is no correlation between GH pulse frequency and age, sex, grade of tumor, size of tumor or GH fluctuations. We can not find any difference at incidence of gsp oncogene by pulse frequency of acromegalic patients. GH pulse frequency of acromegalic patients in our study did not identified any difference in paradoxical response to TRH or LHRH and % suppression of GH by somatostatin or bromocriptine.
CONCLUSIONS
There is no correlation between GH pulse frequency and clinical or endocrinological test. This suggest that GH pulse frequency is not correlated with the expression of various hormone receptors such as dopamine receptor, TRH receptor, LHRH receptor and SSTR.