Knemometric monitoring of early effects of human growth hormone on leg length in children with growth hormone deficiency

Abstract

The early effects of human growth hormone (hGH) were investigated by knemometry, a recently described technique of measuring lower leg length. In 14 growth hormone deficient children, the mean increase in the lower leg length was 0.47 +/- 0.10 (SE) mm within 24 h of a single intramuscular injection of 4 IU hGH. This increase occurred after about 80% of the single injections and was highly significant (p less than 0.01). 48 h after an injection, a slight but not significant reduction of the lower leg length was observed (-0.15 +/- 0.09 [SE]). These effects led to a marked zig-zag pattern of growth when hGH was given thrice weekly.