Growth hormone reserve capacity in Turner's syndrome.

In 11 untreated and 6 oestrogen-treated Turner's syndrome patients, the changes in the serum growth hormone level were studied following the induction of hypoglycaemia with insulin. The growth hormone was measured with a radioimmune assay technique. The growth hormone peak value measured in healthy females was 54.32 +/- 17.17, in untreated Turner's syndrome was 14.90 +/- 3.71, and in oestrogen-treated Turner patients was 33.38 +/- 9.22 microU/ml (average +/- standard error). On the basis of the results, a role is attributed to the decreased growth hormone reserve in the low growth of Tuner's syndrome patients.