Abstract
It has been reported that thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) induces growth hormone (GH) secretion in many cases of chronic liver diseases as well as in the patients with acromegaly, anorexia nervosa, depression, chronic renal failure and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH) has been noted also to stimulate GH secretion in one third of acromegalics and a few cases of anorexia nervosa, shizophrenia and pseudohypoparathyroidism. However, no studies were reported concerning the effect of LH-RH on GH secretion in patients with chronic liver diseases. To investigate whether LH-RH, like as TRH, increases GH secretion in the patients with chronic liver disease we studied the effects of TRH and LH-RH on GH secretion in seven patients with liver cirrhosis and one patient with chronic active hepatitis. These diagnosis were established by liver function tests, liver scintigram and the findings of laparoscopy and liver biopsies. In the group of chrnoic liver diseases the basal GH levels were higher than those of control subjects and plasma GH was increased after TRH administration significantly. Negative correlation between the basal GH levels and the ratios of peak to basal levels of GH after TRH injection was observed. No significant relationships were found between the effect of TRH and any clinical findings of the patients with chronic liver disease. LH-RH did not show stimulating effect of GH secretion in control subjects and in the group of chronic liver diseases except one case, but showed tendency to suppress the GH secretion though not significantly.
