ABSTRACT
Spontaneous growth hormone (GH) secretion (1) as well as the response of GH to several stimuli (2) are increased in puberty and after administration of testosterone (3) or estrogen (2). Sex steroid priming is widely used to test pituitary function before the onset of the growth spurt, when, without priming, pharmacological and physiological tests may yield subnormal responses (4). The GH increase in puberty is due to an increase in GH pulse amplitude, rather than its frequency (1), occurs earlier in girls than in boys, and is seen in children
386 Loche et al.
