--Disease Characteristics-- Diagnosis of hyperinsulinism (i.e., evidence of fasting hypoglycemia with inadequate suppression of insulin, normal pituitary and adrenal function, and increased insulin action) Suboptimal control of blood sugar (i.e., inability to fast at least 10 hours with a blood sugar of 60 mg/dL or greater) --Prior/Concurrent Therapy-- See Disease Characteristics --Patient Characteristics-- Performance status: Not specified Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Not specified Other: No other major medical conditions No known adverse reaction to recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I