Testing for HGH
HGH, the human growth hormone, is a required hormone for the human body to grow and function properly. A deficiency or an excess of the hormone can be very detrimental and when it is suspected, tests are done very quickly so that a diagnosis can be made. These tests will determine if there is a deficiency in growth, if the pituitary gland which produces the hormone is functioning properly and if there are any pituitary tumors. The tests normally run are a somatotropin test, a growth hormone suppression test, somatomedin C test, and a growth hormone stimulation test.
The somatrotropin test will show if there are any deficiencies or excess of the human growth hormone. For the test to yield accurate results, it must be taken one hour after the patient has woken up from a good sleep. For men normal test results will show levels of 5ng/ml, women will have test results showing anything under 10ng/ml, children will show 10ng/ml, and newborns can range from 10ng/ml to 40ng/ml. If there is too much of the human growth hormone present, it will lead to gigantism or acromegaly. If the level is low, it will most likely lead to dwarfism.
The somatomedic C test will determine how much human growth hormone is actually present in the blood. There are no special requirements for the patient before the test is taken. It is used mainly to detect any abnormalities within the pituitary gland. The growth hormone stimulation test will determine how able the body is to produce the hormone on its own. The test is also known as an insulin tolerance test and once the test has been given, other regular tests will be taken after each injection of insulin is taken. This is considered to be the most reliable and accurate test to determine the amount of human growth hormone in the body. The growth hormone suppression test is given to determine if there are abnormally high levels of HGH in the body.