Absence of Sleep-Related Growth Hormone Peaks in Aged Normal Subjects and in Acromegaly

Abstract

Plasma growth hormone (GH) was measured during sleep in 12 normal volunteers of various ages and in 6 patients with acromegaly. Four of the 6 volunteers over 50 yr of age failed to show a sleep-peak of GH. The presence or absence of a GH sleep-peak in the normals was not consistently related to the occurrence of slow-wave sleep. None of the 6 acromegalics showed the usual GH peak early in sleep.