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Prolactin secretion in 70 patients with growth hormone deficiency

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Abstract

The basal levels of prolactin (PRL) and its response to TRH stimulation were studied in 70 patients with growth hormone deficiency of various etiology. It was found that there was a low secretion of PRL which was in most cases associated with a low response of TSH to TRH as well in 8 (36%) of 22 patients with so-called isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) and 3 of 21 patients with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). On the basis of this observation it is suggested that IGHD patients found to have a deficiency of PRL be reclassified as suffering form MPHD due to pituitary disease. High basal levels of PRL, usually associated with a delayed response of TSH to TRH, were found in 2 patients with IGHD and in 8 with MPHD (prior to substitution therapy with thyroxine) in whom the deficiency is probably: due to disease of the hypothalamus. With two exceptions the PRL levels normalized in the MPHD patients following institution of thyroxine replacement treatment. In the idiopathic cases of GH deficiency the determination of PRL levels was therefore found to be useful in delineating the location of the defect and in correctly classifying individual patients. Among the patients with tumors a disturbance in PRL secretion was found preoperatively in 4 of the 6 cases studied, the low PRL response in 2 being suggestive of a pituitary disturbance. Post-operatively evaluation of the PRL secretion was found useful in assessing the completeness of hypophysectomy and the persistence or recurrence of the tumor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beilinson Medical Center, Institute of Pediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Abraham Roitman, Sara Assa, Athalia Pertzelan, Zvi Zadik & Zvi Laron

  2. Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel

    Abraham Roitman, Sara Assa, Athalia Pertzelan, Zvi Zadik & Zvi Laron

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  1. Abraham Roitman
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  2. Sara Assa
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  3. Athalia Pertzelan
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  4. Zvi Zadik
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  5. Zvi Laron
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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H.-R. Wiedemann on the occasion of his 65th birthday

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Roitman, A., Assa, S., Pertzelan, A. et al. Prolactin secretion in 70 patients with growth hormone deficiency. Eur J Pediatr 133, 251–258 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00496085

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00496085

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