EFFECT OF OBESITY CONTROL ON GROWTH

生长激素对儿童的正常生长很重要，但它是如何做到这一点的尚不清楚。可能会产生几种形式的生长激素，但并不是所有形式的生长激素都能在目前用于测量血液生长激素含量的测试中被识别出来。这项研究将通过使用一种新的生物测定方法测量血液中生长激素的浓度，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。减肥对提高生长激素浓度和生物活性的影响也将被研究。基线激素研究将在24小时内每15分钟通过留置导管获取血液的情况下进行。然后，心理学家和营养学家将进行为期12周的干预，以促进减肥。干预后，将再次采集24小时的血液。这些研究可能会对改善儿童的生长发育有实际应用，因为可能会定义生长障碍的新类别。如果能够确定生长激素形式具有增强的生物效力，我们可能能够设计出新的药物来产生更好的生长。我们或许能够更好地了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.