Growth hormone (GH) responses to GRF (1 microgram/kg BW i.v.) were investigated. Comparison between GRF(1-40) and GRF(1-29)NH2 in 11 young adult volunteers gave identical results. One hundred and thirty-one children and adolescents (45 with idiopathic GHD) were tested with GRF (1-29)NH2. The maximal GH levels (max GH) in response to GRF during the 120 min test period were found suitable to characterize the response. In cases without GHD no correlation to age, sex and pubertal development was observed. A maximal GH level of above 10 ng/ml was found to be normal. In 3 out of 86 children without GHD (one with Turner syndrome; two with simple obesity) max GH fell short of 10 ng/ml, while 11 of 45 cases with GHD exceeded this margin. In GHD, max GH was inversely correlated with age. There was no difference in max GH between groups with or without perinatal pathology as a presumed cause of GHD. GH levels to GRF were positively correlated with maximal GH level during sleep in GHD, but not correlated with responses seen to insulin or arginine. The value of GRF testing for the confirmation of GHD is discussed in the light of other GH stimulatory tests and basal somatomedin C measurements. It is suggested that the combination of testing with GRF and the determination of a basal SmC level offers a safe and convenient way to diagnose GHD in clinically suspected cases, though in some cases further diagnostic tests may be needed.

During recent years numerous reports on the favourable results of short-term trials with GH in patients with constitutional delay of growth and adolescence (CDGA) have been published, but it has been unclear whether such treatment affects final height. In the present study, the results of long-term therapy with GH in replacement doses have been evaluated in 15 patients who were treated with GH for several years (three years on average). At the start of treatment, 10 of the children were prepubertal and 5 were in puberty. All patients were followed up until final height was reached. Mean final height of the 13 male patients was 170.0±4.4 cm, i.e. −1.58 sds. In the two female patients, final height was 150.0 cm (−3.5 sds) and 164.0cm (−0.8 sds), respectively. Adult height of the patients lagged behind target height by 5.4±3.2 cm (mean±sd), Measured adult height corresponded to adult height as predicted prior to treatment. In conclusion, GH treatment of patients with CDGA did not increase final height.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were determined in adipose tissue from 34 infants, 14 children in the 2nd year of life, and 2 older children. The highest mean concentration detected during the first 2 years of life was for PCBs (0.67 ppm), followed by DDT (0.57 ppm), HCB (0.23 ppm), and HCH (0.15 ppm). Concentrations of HCB and PCB, which are especially characteristic of highly industrialised countries, were considerably higher in children of German mothers than in those of Turkish mothers. All single investigated values were lower than the mean values for adults in the Federal Republic of Germany, but many were still higher than mean concentrations for adults in other parts of the world. A breakdown into children with high mothers' milk intake and those with low intake showed a highly significant association with the quantity of mothers' milk consumed: the concentration of organohalogens in adipose tissue of children with high intake was significantly higher than in those with low intake. Two tasks urgently demand our attention: the development of further ways to reduce environmental sources of organohalogen contamination and the study of the possible pathogenetic effect of these organohalogens on the health of our children.

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fleshy fungi are being monitored in a population of Fagus grandifolia var. mexicana persisting in a montane cloud forest refuge on a volcano in a subtropical region of central Veracruz (eastern Mexico). The population of Fagus studied represents one of the 10 recognized forest fragments still housing this tree genus in Mexico. This is the first attempt to document EM fungi associated with this tree species in Mexico. We present evidence of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis for Lactarius badiopallescens and L. cinereus with this endemic tree. Species identification of Lactarius on Fagus grandifolia var. mexicana was based on the comparison of DNAsequences (ITS rDNA) of spatiotemporally cooccurring basidiomes and EM root tips. The host of the EM tips was identified by comparison of the large subunit of the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase gene (rbcL). The occurrence of Lactarius badiopallescens and L. cinereus populations in the area of study represent the southernmost record known to date of these two species in North America and are new for the Neotropical Lactarius mycota. Descriptions coupled with illustrations of macro-and micromorphological features of basidiomes as well as photographs of ectomycorrhizas are presented.