Urinary Growth Hormone in Acromegaly

Urinary growth hormone compared to plasma growth hormone during peroral glucose tolerance test has been studied in 16 patients with clinically obvious acromegaly. The urinary excretion of growth hormone was clearly elevated in all patients with acromegaly when compared to a normal group. One of the patients with established acromegaly had normal fasting plasma growth hormone levels, but urinary growth hormone was grossly elevated. No significant correlation was found between plasma and urinary growth hormone in the individual patient. Neither plasma nor urinary growth hormone were well correlated to the clinical activity of the disease. It is concluded that measurement of urinary growth hormone is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of acromegaly. The measurement might be of special interest in the early period of acromegaly before the disfiguring changes have taken place in the patients.