Lindholm J
Department of Endocrinology, Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark.
Pituitary. 2006;9(1):5-10. doi: 10.1007/s11102-006-7557-4.
A brief review of important contributions to our present knowledge of growth hormone is given. In 1887 it had been noted that a pituitary tumor was present in most patients with acromegaly. Even at the beginning of the 20. Century relationship between growth disorders and the pituitary was contested. From 1908 pituitary surgery became established treatment in GH hypersecretion. In 1922 it was demonstrated that injection of pituitary extract to animals caused excessive growth and soon after the opposite: removal of the pituitary caused growth retardation. A huge number of studies on the effects of GH were subsequently reported as were trials with GH treatment. They were impeded by failure to recognize the impact of species specificity of GH. After this issue was clarified in 1957, treatment with human growth hormone proved effective. In 1985 it was realized that Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease might be transmitted through human growth hormone. At this time recombinant GH had become available. In 1971 the structure of human GH was established. In the same period both GH releasing and inhibiting hormones were identified and an analogue of somatostatin had evolved into the first effective pharmacological treatment for acromegaly.
本文简要回顾了对我们目前生长激素知识的重要贡献。1887年，人们注意到大多数肢端肥大症患者都存在垂体肿瘤。即使在20世纪初，生长障碍与垂体之间的关系仍存在争议。从1908年起，垂体手术成为治疗生长激素分泌过多的既定疗法。1922年，人们证明向动物注射垂体提取物会导致过度生长，不久后又发现相反的情况：切除垂体导致生长迟缓。随后报道了大量关于生长激素作用的研究以及生长激素治疗试验。这些研究因未能认识到生长激素物种特异性的影响而受阻。1957年这个问题得到澄清后，人类生长激素治疗被证明是有效的。1985年，人们意识到克雅氏病可能通过人类生长激素传播。此时重组生长激素已可供使用。1971年确定了人类生长激素的结构。同一时期，生长激素释放激素和抑制激素都被发现，生长抑素类似物已发展成为治疗肢端肥大症的第一种有效药物疗法。
