Growth hormone treatment in Japan: past, present, and future

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) treatment was approved for growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in Japan in 1975. Since then, GH treatment has been approved for treating five other diseases with short stature. However, available data on adult height after long-term GH treatment is limited to patients with GHD and Turner syndrome. Although adult height of patients with GHD has improved with early diagnosis and early initiation of treatment, the adult height after long-term GH treatment is still not so satisfactory because the therapeutic dose used in Japan is smaller than that used in US and Europe. With early diagnosis, early high-dose treatment, and low-dose estrogen replacement therapy, both adult height and quality of life (QOL) of the patients with Turner syndrome have been improved.