Clonidine (Haemiton) as a reliable stimulus of growth hormone secretion in patients with short stature.

In 14 patients with short stature aged 4-14 years the effect of clonidine has been investigated. A single oral dose of 0.15 mg/m2 surface area is followed by a marked increase of hGH concentration in blood with a peak value between 60 and 90 min after the administration of the drug. The hGH increase caused by clonidine was comparable to the rise during insulin-induced hypoglycemia. In 5 patients both stimuli failed to increase hGH release. The test procedure is simple. It shows only minimum side effects and can therefore be especially recommended in outpatients.