Serum dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and sulphate (DHAS) after acute growth hormone therapy.

To test the hypothesis that growth hormone (hGH) may increase adrenal androgen production dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and its sulphate (DHAS) concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in the serum from 7 children with growth hormone deficiency, 2 of whom had delayed puberty. Two injections of hGH (10 mg) were given 48 h apart and the hormone concentrations measured at 3, 6, 24 and 48h after the first injection, 3, 6, and 24h after the second. Basal DHA levels were positively correlated with age and bone age in 6 of the 7 patients (p less than 0.05). Increment of DHA and DHAS above or below basal at each time interval were calculated. The mean increments were higher (p less than 0.01-0.05) at 3 h after the first injection and at 24h (p lesal DHA concentrations were positively correlated with increments in DHA during the first and second 24h of the test (p less than 0.05). DHAS concentrations showed little change throughout the test for all children. It is suggested that some children with growth hormone deficiency and receptive adrenals, increase their serum DHA concentrations after acute hGH therapy.