We report a case of short stature irresponsive to growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy. Low GH response to provocative tests and undetectable IGF-1 levels had suggested GH deficiency, while response to therapy indicated GH insensitivity. Molecular evaluation of the GH/IGF-1 axis should be performed in these cases to improve diagnosis and therapy.

At the time of the publication of Geoffrey Harris's monograph on 'Neural control of the pituitary gland' 60 years ago, the pituitary was recognised to produce a growth factor, and extracts administered to children with hypopituitarism could accelerate growth. Since then our understanding of the neuroendocrinology of the GH axis has included identification of the key central components of the GH...

Although the role of growth hormone (GH) in the control of reproductive functions is not well understood, there is considerable evidence that the states of both GH deficiency and GH excess are typically associated with reproductive deficits. To identify the possible involvement of functional alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary system in producing these deficits, we are studying neuroendoc...

Recent studies by our group and others have demonstrated that growth hormone (GH) is produced endogenously within the hippocampal formation, a brain structure associated with learning and aspects of emotional experience. Here, we demonstrate that this endogenously produced GH is modulated by age and sex differences and the presence of estrogen. GH mRNA levels were higher in females than males, ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of vascular adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 in the maternal serum, cord blood, and placental tissue of pregnant women from Xingtai, Hebei, with gestational hypertension (GH) combined with fetal growth restriction (FGR). A total of 108 patients with GH combined with FGR (GH-FGR), 60 patients with GH alone (GH), and 50 healthy pregnant women (con...

The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I (GH/IGF-I) axis is an important regulator of brain function which view is based on the evidence that 1) GH and IGF-I can cross the blood brain barrier, 2) GH and IGF-I can bind to sites in various brain structures, including the hippocampus, 3) GH can alter the dopamine turnover in the hippocampus and IGF-I the acetylcholine release, and 4) GH and...

The intracellular signaling pathway of growth hormone (GH)-stimulated DNA synthesis and proliferation was investigated in primary cultures adult rat hepatocytes. cell were detected hepatocyte parenchymal cells grown serum-free, defined medium containing GH (100 ng/ml). GH-stimulated almost completely blocked by TG101209 (10?6 M), a selective Janus kinase (JAK)2 inhibitor, U-73122 phospholipase ...

The neonatal and postpartum periods are characterized by alterations in pituitary GH secretion. We have investigated the proportion of circulating non-22kDa GH isoforms in newborns, in women within the early postpartum phase (just after the disappearance of placental GH from the maternal circulation) and in women during late postpartum (during the somatotroph recovery phase). We studied 10 newb...

A heterozygous missense mutation in the GH-1 gene converting codon 77 from arginine (R) to cysteine (C), which was previously reported to have some GH antagonistic effect, was identified in a Syrian family. The index patient, a boy, was referred for assessment of his short stature (-2.5 SDS) at the age of 6 years. His mother and grandfather were also carrying the same mutation, but did not diff...