Summary
To evaluate if the peripheral concentration of human growth hormone (GH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) in the blood could serve as an indicator for the brain concentration of dopamine and serotonin, as it could be anticipated from animal experiments, the effect of intravenous administration of L-DOPA and DL-5-HTP upon GH and LH blood levels in normal male volunteers was investigated.
Dosages L-DOPA ranging from 12. 5 to 75. 0 mg before and after pre-treatment with the decarboxylase inhibitor Ro 4-4602 had no statistical significant effect upon GH-or LH-secretion. The administration of 75, 100 and 150 mg DL-5-HTP in combination with Ro 4-4602 had also no effect upon GH-and LH-secretion.
This demonstrates that the GH and LH blood levels do not reflect in any way the concentration of biogenic amines in the brain.
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This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 51.
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Benkert, O., Laakmann, G., Souvatzoglou, A. et al. Missing indicator function of growth hormone and luteinizing hormone blood levels for dopamine and serotonin concentration in the human brain. J. Neural Transmission 34, 291–299 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01242751
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01242751