Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2009) 20 P587

Unit of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Medical Science, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milan, Italy.


Background: GH response to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is currently used for the definition of disease remission in acromegaly. This test has been poorly investigated in other pituitary diseases.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of a pituitary disease other than acromegaly on GH response to OGTT.

Patients and methods: Eighteen patients (13 F & 5 M, age: 50.7±13.1 years) with different pituitary diseases (i.e. non-functioning pituitary adenomas, n=14, empty sella, n=1, meningiomas: n=3) were evaluated. Eight of these patients underwent neurosurgery and 2 underwent radiotherapy. None of them had history of diabetes mellitus, GH deficiency or acromegaly, renal/liver failure or nutritional disorders and none was treated with drugs interfering with GH secretion. 45 sex-, age- and BMI-matched healthy subjects were investigated as controls. All patients and subjects were studied for IGF-I and GH levels before and during OGTT.

Results: IGF-I levels, evaluated as standard deviation score, were similar between the 2 groups (−1.00±0.58 vs −0.38±1.14, P=NS). All patients and controls had post-glucose GH nadir levels <1 ng/ml. Mean GH nadir was slightly higher in patients with pituitary disease than in controls (0.13±0.10 vs 0.08±0.09 ng/ml, P=0.08), being higher in females than in males only in the control group (0.10±0.09 vs 0.075±0.08 ng/ml, P<0.05). However, the time course of GH response was different between the two groups, GH levels being significantly higher in patients than in controls at time 90 and 120 min (P<0.01).

Conclusion: GH response to OGTT appears to be dysregulated in patients with pituitary tumors, possibly as a consequence of hypothalamic alterations.

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