Glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in children before and during recombinant growth hormone treatment.

This study evaluates glucose metabolism and insulin secretion in children with Ullrich-Turner syndrome (UTS), chronic renal failure (CRF) and kidney transplantation (KTx) with rh GH therapy using an intravenous glucose infusion test. Before treatment, glucose AUC was significantly increased in all patient groups when compared to normal controls. Both the early and second phases of insulin secretion were not altered. During treatment, elevated glucose AUC showed a further increase in patients with KTx but not in patients with CRF or UTS. Both the early and second insulin secretion phases rose significantly in UTS and were transiently elevated after 6 and 12 months of therapy in patients with CRF and KTx. We conclude that growth hormone therapy aggravates alteration of glucose metabolism in patients with KTx and not in children with CRF and UTS. Progressive hyperinsulinemia occurred only in patients with UTS.