Growth hormone secretion in empty sella syndrome.

GH secretion was studied in 47 patients with empty sella syndrome (ESS), using the GH response to the L-dopa test and determinations of the somatomedin levels. A high frequency of low responders (56%) was found, which is in accordance with previous reports on ESS. However, a true GH deficiency as judged by low levels of somatomedin A, was suspected in only 2 out of 41 patients with otherwise normal pituitary function and in 5 out of 6 patients with other pituitary insufficiences. The impaired GH responsiveness in the remaining patients seemed to be attributed to their overweight and/or postmenopausal age (estrogen deficiency) and not to a true GH deficiency, which was excluded by normal levels of somatomedin.