Serum growth hormone, serum immunoreactive insulin and blood glucose response to oral and intravenous diazepam in man.

The effect of diazepam on blood glucose, serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI), and growth hormone (GH) were studied in 10 volunteers who received diazepam in oral doses of 5 and 10 mg, and intravenously 10 mg. They also received placebo and saline treatment. There was a dose-dependent rise in GH after diazepam administration, and the rise was related to the peak plasma level of the drug. A highly significant correlation between the concentrations of serum GH and plasma diazepam was found. During the i.v. and oral administration of 10 mg of diazepam, the peak GH levels, reached in 30 and 60 minutes (19.6+/-2.9 and 15.2+/-3.2ng/ml, respectively), were significantly higher than those during saline and placebo periods (4.3+/-0.8 and 5.9+/-1.1 ng/ml, respectively). There was a tendency to a rise of blood glucose levels, but no significant changes of serum IRI.