The Influence of Age on Human Pancreatic Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone Stimulated Growth Hormone Secretion

63 non-obese healthy subjects aged 18 to 95 years were investigated for age-dependence of GHRH-stimulated GH-secretion. In addition, priming of GH-secretion with three oral doses of propranolol (3 x 80 mg, the last dose 2 hours prior to the second GHRH-bolus) was carried out in 15 subjects below 40 years and 13 subjects older than 70 years. We found that mean maximal incremental GH-levels were inversely correlated with chronological age (r = -0.44, P = 0.001) of the probands. Propranolol premedication caused a significant rise of both basal and peak GHRH-induced relative increases in all subjects tested, whereas GHRH-induced relative increases of GH remained unchanged. In a well selected group of non-obese healthy subjects stimulated GH-secretion is found to undergo an aging process that is supposed to be of pituitary and suprapituitary origin. Priming GH-secretion with a beta-Blocker is possible both in young and very old healthy subjects and is likely to affect the basal GH secretory tone and not GHRH-stimulated GH-secretion.

[1]  J. McWilliam,et al.  Plasma Growth Hormone Responses to Microinfusion of Noradrenergic Agents into or Electrical Stimulation of the Hypothalamus and Amygdala in Baboons , 1985, Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme.

[2]  H. Kaji,et al.  Augmentation by propranolol of growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-44)-NH2-induced growth hormone release in normal short and normal children. , 1985, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[3]  R. McCARTER,et al.  The influence of age on the 24-hour integrated concentration of growth hormone in normal individuals. , 1985, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[4]  M. Vance,et al.  Human pancreatic tumor growth hormone-releasing factor: dose-response relationships in normal man. , 1984, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[5]  H. Kaji,et al.  Noradrenergic modulation of human pancreatic growth hormone-releasing factor (hpGHRF1-44)-induced growth hormone release in conscious male rabbits: involvement of endogenous somatostatin. , 1984, Endocrinology.

[6]  N. Pushparaj,et al.  The effect of age on the number of pituitary cells immunoreactive to growth hormone and prolactin. , 1984, Human pathology.

[7]  S. Margolis,et al.  Integrated concentrations of growth hormone, insulin, C-peptide and prolactin in human obesity. , 1982, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[8]  C. J. Goodner,et al.  Regulation by catecholamines of spontaneous growth hormone secretion in the baboon. , 1981, The American journal of physiology.

[9]  M. Kutner,et al.  Impaired growth hormone secretion in the adult population: relation to age and adiposity. , 1981, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[10]  J. B. Martin,et al.  Neural regulation of growth hormone secretion. , 1978, The New England journal of medicine.

[11]  J. Martin,et al.  Evidence for a role of alpha-adrenergic mechanisms in regulation of episodic growth hormone secretion in the rat. , 1977, Endocrinology.

[12]  H. E. Palmer,et al.  Effect of age on growth hormone secretion in man. , 1973, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[13]  H. Roffwarg,et al.  Age-related change in the twenty-four-hour spontaneous secretion of growth hormone. , 1972, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[14]  P. Gorden,et al.  Abscence of sleep-related growth hormone peaks in aged normal subjects and in acromegaly. , 1972, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[15]  T. Hökfelt,et al.  On the catecholamine innervation of the hypothalamus, with special reference to the median eminence. , 1972, Brain research.

[16]  W. Blackard,et al.  Adrenergic receptor control mechanism for growth hormone secretion. , 1968, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[17]  R. H. Bowman.  Growth Hormone Activity of the Anterior Pituitary Lobe of the Male Rat at Various Ages , 1961, Nature.

[18]  H. Gershberg.  Growth hormone content and metabolic actions of human pituitary glands. , 1957, Endocrinology.

[19]  N. Ling,et al.  Age-related changes in plasma growth hormone response to growth hormone-releasing factor in man. , 1984, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[20]  J. McWilliam,et al.  Noradrenergic regulation of growth hormone secretion in the baboon. , 1983, Endocrinology.