DOES GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING-HORMONE ADMINISTRATION AFFECT SERUM GROWTH-HORMONE LEVELS IN POORLY CONTROLLED INSULIN-DEPENDENT AND NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

Exaggerated growth hormone (GH) responses to various provocative stimu li have been reported previously in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitu s (IDDM). Little is known about GH response to synthetic gonadotropin- releasing hormone (GnRH) in diabetes. It has been reported to be exagg erated in active acromegaly. We investigated GH, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels after GnRH administr ation in seven IDDM and eight non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) p atients. They were poorly controlled from a metabolic point of view. T en healthy subjects served as the control group. FSH and LH levels inc reased significantly after GnRH in all groups. In contrast, GnRH did n ot elicit significant GH increments above baseline levels in any group . Moreover, mean areas under the GH curves were comparable among the t hree groups. These results suggest that poorly controlled IDDM and NID DM does not lead to inappropriate GH responses to GnRH.