Abstract
The rate of human growth hormone (HGH) secretion is subject to marked and rapid fluctuations in response to a variety of stimuli, e.g., physical stress, emotional stress, and food intake. These variations in the HGH levels of normal individuals decrease the diagnostic usefulness of determining HGH levels of random blood samples. Also, pituitary failure cannot be detected since normal values can be as low as zero. For these reasons, tests have been developed in which serum HGH levels are measured after pituitary stimulation and suppression. Our methodology for these tests and some case reports are presented.