| Research Abstract |
This study was aimed to make clear the relation between the behavioral states and growth hormone (GH) secretion in infants. We designed to observe the behavioral states by continuous video recording and at the same time take small amounts of blood every 20 to 30 minutes. But we took only one blood sample at the end of the video recording from each infant because it was impossible for us to take blood samples frequently from the sick infants. Plasma GH concentrations were measured by the highly sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay (EIA). From the data of this study, we couldn't confirm the relation between the behavioral states and GH secretion. In our study some infants, especially premature ones, showed the changes of states so frequently that we couldn't judge them as the true state cycle. Previously some study about the relation between states and GH secretion were reported, but the conclusions of each study are inconsistent. It was suggested that the misjudgments of the behavioral states were the reason of that inconsistency. So it is thought that we should reconsider the duration to observe the states and the timing of taking blood samples for GH assay. By accumurating data over a long period, the effects of factors such as postconceptional age, perinatal distress and the disorders of central nervous system will be clear.
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