Description
As its name implies, the anterior pituitary hormone somatotrophin has an important regulatory action on virtually all body tissues, often mediated via its stimulatory effects on the growth factor IGF-1. Its trivial name, growth hormone, derives from just one aspect of these actions, that is the promotion of linear growth in children, its first clinical use. Somatotrophin secretion varies throughout life but absolute deficiency is seen only in organic disease of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis. Indeed, its deficiency is a virtually invariable component of hypopituitarism.
