Previous studies have shown that postmortem serum levels of
adrenocorticotropic hormone (
ACTH) were significantly lower in cases of
asphyxia and
poisoning than in other groups, whereas
ACTH levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were significantly lower for
hypothermia and
hyperthermia. This study comparatively analyzed
growth hormone (GH) levels in serum and CSF in relation to cause of death in routine forensic work. Autopsy cases (n = 116), including cases of
blunt injury, sharp instrument injury, fire fatality,
asphyxia,
drowning,
hypothermia, and acute
myocardial infarction/
ischemia (AMI), were examined. GH concentrations were measured using an immunoradiometric assay technique. GH levels in serum were significantly higher in cases of
blunt injury, sharp instrument injury,
hypothermia, and AMI than in the other groups. GH levels in CSF were significantly higher in fire fatality cases with a high COHb level than in the other groups. In a previous study
ACTH immunopositivity in the adenohypophysis was significantly higher in cases of
blunt injury, fire fatality, and AMI whereas GH immunopositivity was not significantly different among the groups, although positivity was higher in cases of fire fatality with a low COHb level. These observations suggest that postmortem serum/CSF GH and
ACTH levels in acute deaths change differently, depending on the cause of death, because of varied stress reactions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.