ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Pharmacologic provocation test of growth hormone(GH) is a non-physiologic method and has several limitations for diagnosing growth hormone(GH) deficiency. Spontaneous GH release studies could be important in understanding the pathophysiology of children with poor growth but normal responses to GH provocation tests. Also, the relationship between nocturnal GH secretions and sleep patterns in short stature children is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to determine whether there are differences in sleep patterns and nocturnal GH secretory profiles between idiopathic short stature children and a normal stature group. METHODS: Spontaneous nocturnal GH secretions and sleep patterns were evaluated in 12 prepubertal idiopathic short stature children with normal responses to provocation tests and 9 normal stature controls. Blood samples were taken every 30 minutes from 22:00-06:30 and sleep patterns were analyzed by polysomnography. RESULTS: The mean GH level during sleep was significantly lower in short stature children than in controls. The peak GH level after sleep, coincident with the first slow wave sleep, was lower in the short stature group. The slow wave sleep times of short stature children were decreased compared with those of normal subjects. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that overnight serial GH sampling is helpful to identify short stature children with subnormal GH secretions, and sleep structure differences may be associated with decreased overnight GH secretions in short stature children.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Growth Hormone , PolysomnographyABSTRACT
Fetal hydrops is often serious and associated with a high perinatal motality rate. Cardiac causes of fetal hydrops include congenital heart diseases and rhythm disturbances. An irregular fetal heart rate may indicate atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter with variable AV conduction. Fetal atrial flutter is characterized by the pressence of flutter waves which are regular sawtooth undulations in the baseline that are larger than p waves. Authors experienced a case of fetal atrial flutter with hydrops fetalis at 30 week's gestation which was confirmed by fetal M-mode echocardiogram and electrocardiography. A new born infant had shown to have atrial flutter in utero and after delivery was successfully converted to normal sinus rhythm with digoxin and quinidene.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Pregnancy , Atrial Fibrillation , Atrial Flutter , Digoxin , Edema , Electrocardiography , Heart Diseases , Heart Rate, Fetal , Hydrops FetalisABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant, Newborn , Constriction, Pathologic , Pulmonary Artery , Systolic MurmursABSTRACT
No abstract available.