Why the study?
Does secondary pituitary insufficiency (lack of human growth hormone) lead to regression of diabetic retinopathy in patients with long-term IDDM?
Does secondary pituitary insufficiency (lack of human growth hormone) lead to regression of diabetic retinopathy in patients with long-term IDDM?
The lack of human growth hormone due to secondary pituitary insufficiency may be a pathogenetic co-determinant in the regression of diabetic retinopathy.
May link HGH deficiency to retinopathy regression in IDDM; hypothesis-generating and requires confirmation before clinical consideration.
Three women with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) from childhood and early development of diabetic retinopathy are described. Insulin requirement was reduced to 5-12 IU daily in all three after relatively uncomplicated births and all had very brittle diabetes on this dosage. At re-examination 16-22 years after these births and after 34-42 years of IDDM, regression of retinopathy was observed in two patients, while the third had a light retinopathy at the same level as initially. Other diabetic complications were few and none of the patients had nephropathy. Pituitary examination revealed incomplete hypopituitarism in all cases, human growth hormone (HGH) being the sole common factor lacking. These findings and a review of four similar cases reported previously lend some support to the hypothesis of HGH as a possible pathogenetic co-determinant in the development of diabetic retinopathy.
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Bliddal et al. (1983) studied this question.
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