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Plasma growth hormone response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in infantile autism: A pilot study

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Abstract

Plasma growth hormone responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia were examined in eight preschool-age autistic children. Six of these children were examined on two separate occasions: during the period of baseline evaluation and after 4 weeks of daily haloperidol administration. On at least one occasion, half of this small sample exhibited persistent elevation of growth hormone levels, with a failure to return to baseline values over the course of a 135-minute period postinsulin infusion. These data are consistent with the occurrence of hypothalamic dysfunction in subgroups of autistic children. Short-term administration of haloperidol did not diminish the ability of the pituitary to secrete growth hormone in response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia.

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This study was supported in part by Public Health Service Grant MH-32212 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

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Deutsch, S.I., Campbell, M., Perry, R. et al. Plasma growth hormone response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in infantile autism: A pilot study. J Autism Dev Disord 16, 59–68 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531578

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