Effects of oral glucose administration on plasma growth hormone levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity of GH secretion to the suppressive effect of oral glucose administration in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design: Comparison of the GH response to an oral glucose load in women with PCOS and in weight-matched normally menstruating women (controls). Setting: Reproductive endocrinology unit. Patient(s): Eighteen obese and 11 nonobese patients and 10 obese and 10 nonobese controls. Intervention(s): After an overnight fast, each woman underwent a 75-g, 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Mean Outcome Measure(s): Growth hormone, glucose, and insulin responses to OGTT. Result(s): No significant differences in the glycemic and insulinemic responses were found between the patients and the weight-matched controls. No decrease in plasma GH was observed in both obese and nonobese patients and in obese controls during the OGTT, whereas a significant GH decrease occurred in nonobese controls 60 and 120 minutes after glucose intake. Conclusion(s): Oral glucose administration was unable to suppress GH levels in nonobese as well as in obese women with PCOS and in obese control women. These data suggest that both PCOS and obesity are associated with a reduced sensitivity of GH secretion to glucose suppression.