Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 17;110(4):e1232-e1240.
doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgae834.

Long-Acting Growth Hormone Therapy in Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency: A Consensus Statement

Aristides Maniatis  1 , Wayne Cutfield  2 , Mehul Dattani  3 , Cheri Deal  4 , Paulo Ferrez Collett-Solberg  5 , Reiko Horikawa  6 , Mohamad Maghnie  7   8 , Bradley S Miller  9 , Michel Polak  10 , Lars Sävendahl  11 , Joachim Woelfle  12
Affiliations

Long-Acting Growth Hormone Therapy in Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency: A Consensus Statement

Aristides Maniatis et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Context: Several long-acting growth hormone (LAGH) therapies have recently become available, but guidance on their usage in children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency is limited.

Methods: International experts in pediatric endocrinology were invited to join a consensus group based on their expertise in treating children with daily GH and LAGH. The group comprised 11 experts from 10 countries across the world. Online group meetings were held in February to March 2024 followed by a 1-day in-person meeting in May 2024 to finalize the consensus recommendations. A targeted literature search approach was used to identify and share evidence ahead of the meetings. Formulations considered were limited to those with international populations in phase III pivotal trials and regulatory approvals in multiple countries.

Evidence synthesis: Topics covered include patient selection and preference, dose adjustment, initiating and switching therapies, administration, adherence and missed doses, practical considerations, and knowledge gaps. LAGH formulations offer a potential advantage over daily GH injections for children with GH deficiency in terms of reduced injection frequency and treatment burden; this may also be associated with improved adherence and treatment outcomes over time. However, data on LAGH in pediatric GH deficiency are mostly limited to clinical trials, and long-term, real-world data are currently lacking.

Conclusion: This article provides an international consensus on the use of LAGH therapy in children with GH deficiency to guide practitioners when considering these new treatment options for their patients. Long-term data are needed to fill current data gaps and allow the creation of comprehensive evidence-based recommendations.

Keywords: children; consensus; growth hormone deficiency; long-acting growth hormone therapy; patient selection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Conceptual representation of the pharmacodynamic differences between once-weekly long-acting growth hormone and daily growth hormone. A = peak, B = average, C = trough. Abbreviations: LAGH, long-acting GH; SDS, standard deviation score.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kaplan SL, Underwood LE, August GP, et al. . Clinical studies with recombinant-DNA-derived methionyl human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient children. Lancet. 1986;327(8483):697‐700. - PubMed
    1. Growth Hormone Research Society . Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in childhood and adolescence: summary statement of the GH Research Society. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000;85(11):3990‐3993. - PubMed
    1. Grimberg A, DiVall SA, Polychronakos C, et al. . Guidelines for growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I treatment in children and adolescents: growth hormone deficiency, idiopathic short stature, and primary insulin-like growth factor-I deficiency. Horm Res Paediatr. 2016;86(6):361‐397. - PubMed
    1. Loche S, Carta L, Ibba A, Guzzetti C. Growth hormone treatment in non-growth hormone-deficient children. Ann Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2014;19(1):1‐7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cutfield WS, Derraik JG, Gunn AJ, et al. . Non-compliance with growth hormone treatment in children is common and impairs linear growth. PLoS One. 2011;6(1):e16223. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding