Somatostatin: a review of its effects especially in human beings.

A review is given of the early 1976 situation in somatostatin research: the effects on pituitary hormones and the effects outside the pituitary gland, the production of somatostatin outside the hypothalamus, the artificial analogues, the problem of "side effects", and the mode of action. The possible clinical applications of somatostatin and somatostatin analogues are discussed.