EFFECT OF OBESITY CONTROL ON GROWTH

生长激素对促进儿童的正常生长很重要，但其作用方式尚不清楚。可能会产生几种形式的生长激素，但并不是所有的形式都能在目前用于测量生长激素血液含量的测试中被识别出来。这项研究将通过一种新的生物测定法测量生长激素的血液浓度，来确定生长激素的形式是否会随着青春期营养的变化而变化。还将研究减肥对增加生长激素浓度和生物活性的影响。基线激素研究将在24小时内每15分钟通过留置导管获得血液的情况下进行。然后由心理学家和营养学家进行为期12周的干预，以促进减肥。干预后，24小时内再次采血。这些研究可能在促进儿童生长方面有实际应用，因为可能会定义生长失败的新类别。如果能够确定具有增强生物效力的生长激素形式，我们可能能够设计出新的药物来促进生长。我们也许能够更好地理解生长激素在新陈代谢中的作用。

Growth hormone is important in producing normal growth in children, but the means by which it does so are not known. It may be that several forms of growth hormone are produced, but not all the forms can be recognized in the tests presently used to measure the blood content of growth hormone. This research will determine whether the forms of growth hormone change with nutritional changes at puberty by measuring blood concentrations of growth hormone using a new biological assay. The effect of weight loss to increase growth hormone concentration and biological activity will also be studied. Baseline hormone studies will be performed where blood is obtained through an indwelling catheter every 15 minutes for 24 hours. Then a 12 week intervention will be given by a psychologist and nutritionist to promote weight loss. Following the intervention, blood will again be obtained for 24 hours. These studies may have practical applications for improving growth in children, since new categories for growth failure may be defined. If growth hormone forms with enhanced biological potency can be determined, we may be able to design new drugs to produce better growth. We may be able to better understand the role of growth hormone in metabolism.