Endocrine Abstracts

Healthspan is the period of life during which one enjoys good health. As people age, health is often compromised. Aging is a progressive process and changes of aging are multifactorial in origin. Growth hormone (GH) levels peak at midpuberty and thereafter decline progressively as people age. The number of GH pulses per 24 h does not change with age, but the pulse amplitude declines. The decline in GH secretion of aging is paralleled by a decline in muscle mass. This decline i...

Context: We have previously demonstrated that, in cranially irradiated patients with normal peak GH responses to both the insulin tolerance test (ITT) and the growth hormone-releasing hormone plus arginine stimulation test (GHRH+AST), somatotroph reserve can be substantially reduced, while individual and overall spontaneous GH secretion remain entirely normal due presumably to a compensatory increase in hypothalamic stimulatory input within a partially damaged hypothalamic pit...