[Growth hormone deficiency during the course of histiocytoses. A report on a case of Hand-Schuller-Christian disease (author's transl)].

Hand-Schuller-Christian disease frequently products histiocytic localization in the part of the posterior hypothalamus which is responsible for diabetes insipidus. Retarded growth is also relatively frequent and has multiple etiologies. An isolated deficiency in growth hormone (GH) which may be due to localization of the disease in the anterior hypothalamus is much rarer. In the case reported the possibility of this localization was only suspected because of the presence of a hyperprolactinemia. Retarded growth was obviously present but it was difficult to relate this to a GH defian 7 ng/ml. Follow-up examinations did however provide definite proof of a hormonal deficiency. This confirms the notion of partial growth hormone deficiency and the difficulty of providing proof during the usual stimulation tests in some cases.