Partial restoration of GH responsiveness to ghrelin in Cushing's disease after 6 months of ketoconazole treatment: comparison with GHRP-6 and GHRH.

Objective: In Cushing’s disease (CD), GH responsiveness to several stimuli, including ghrelin, GHRP-6, and GHRH, is blunted. Recovery of GH secretion after remission of hypercortisolism after transsphenoidal surgery, radiotherapy, or adrenalectomy is controversial. There are no studies evaluating the effect of primary clinical treatment with ketoconazole on GH secretion in CD. The aim of this study is to compare ghrelin-, GHRP-6-, and GHRH-induced GH release before and after ketoconazole in CD. Design: GH responses to ghrelin, GHRP-6, and GHRH of eight untreated patients with CD (mean age: 33.8G3.1 years; body mass index: 28.5G0.8 kg/m 2 ) were evaluated before and after 3 and 6 months