Night and Day Growth Hormone Levels During Treatment with Corticosteroids and Corticotrophin

Night and day rhythms of HGH secretion were measured in 5 children before any treatment, 10 days after prednisone administration, and 3 days after ACTH treatment. Corticosteroids and corticotrophin were found to have a pronounced effect on the spontaneous level of HGH with the almost complete disappearance of the normally observed peaks during the 24 hours in the pretreatment study. It is postulated that this disappearance of the spontaneous peaks might explain in part the growth retardation noticed in children on long-term treatment with corticosteroids or corticotrophin.