II. Physiology
- Polypeptide produced in the acidophil cells of the anterior pituitary
-
Hypothalamus controls release when triggered by Hypoglycemia, decreased Amino Acids
- Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) stimulates release
- Somatostatin inhibits release
- Biochemistry
- Liver converts Growth Hormone to Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and stimulates other growth factors
- Growth Hormone is a precursor to Testosterone
- Positive Function (stimulates or promotes the following activities)
- Bone and cartilage growth
- Protein synthesis
- Lipid catabolism to Fatty Acids (for energy source)
- Hyperglycemia (from decreased cell utilization of Glucose) resulting in an increase of glycogen stores
III. Pathophysiology
- Excess Growth Hormone
- Gigantism
- Symmetric excessive growth in children
- Acromegaly
- Asymmetric excessive growth in adults (esp. hands, feet, forehead, jaw)
- Gigantism
- Deficiency of Growth Hormone
- Symmetric Dwarfism (intact intelligence)
IV. Resources
- Growth Hormone (Wikipedia)
V. References
- Goldberg (2014) Clinical Physiology, Medmasters, Miami, p. 133