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Review
. 2017 Dec 30;9(Suppl 2):23-32.
doi: 10.4274/jcrpe.2017.S003. Epub 2017 Dec 27.

The Rationale for Growth Hormone Therapy in Children with Short Stature

Annalisa Deodati  1 , Stefano Cianfarani  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The Rationale for Growth Hormone Therapy in Children with Short Stature

Annalisa Deodati et al. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. .

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) was first isolated from cadaver pituitary glands, requiring laborious and expensive collection of glands, followed by extraction and purification of the hormone. This limited supply restricted its use to children with severe GH deficiency who were treated with low dosages and suboptimal schedules. The development of recombinant DNA-derived GH, allowed the production of virtually unlimited amounts of GH, leading to the approval for therapy for a large number of childhood conditions characterized by non-GH deficient short stature. The aim of this review is to provide a critical overview on the daily use of GH in two paradigmatic conditions of non-GH deficient short stature which are children born small for gestational age and with idiopathic short stature, highlighting the available strength of evidence for efficacy and safety.

Keywords: Growth hormone treatment; idiopathic short stature small for gestational age..

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Effect of long term growth hormone therapy on adult height in randomised controlled trials. Results of meta-analysis according to random model (39) in children born small for gestational age. The mean difference in adult height between treated and untreated children was 0.85 standard deviation (IC 95% 0.52-1.17, p<0.001) SD: standard deviation, RCTs: randomized controlled trials
Figure 2
Figure 2. Effect of long term growth hormone therapy on adult height in randomised controlled trials. Results of meta-analysis according to random model (69) in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS). The mean difference in adult height between treated and untreated ISS children was 0.65 standard deviation (IC 95% 0.4-0.91, p<0.001) SD: standard deviation, RCT: randomized controlled trial
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