THURSDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Growth hormone treatment results in a significant increase in the final height of children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) but without growth hormone deficiency, according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Kerstin Albertsson-Wikland, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues investigated the effects of two doses of growth hormone on the final height of short children -- mostly with ISS -- in Sweden. They enrolled 177 short children, 151 of whom were included in the intent-to-treat population and 108 in the per-protocol population. They compared these children with untreated controls.

After a mean 5.9 years of treatment, the researchers found that growth hormone increased final height in the ISS children in a dose-dependent manner. The treated children in the per-protocol population had final heights 1.5 standard deviations below the population-based norm, versus 2.4 in untreated controls, and they were 0.2 standard deviations below mean parental height, versus 1.0 in controls. There was a mean height gain of 1.3 standard deviations in the treated group but a mean gain of only 0.2 in the control group, the researchers report. In addition, the growth hormone therapy was safe and did not affect time to onset of puberty, the authors note.

"Although there was variation in the growth response owing to individual growth hormone responsiveness, most individuals receiving the high-dose growth hormone regimen reached normal adult height. However, the demonstration of a significant height gain in the growth hormone-treated individuals compared with the non-treated group does not mean that such treatment is recommended for all children with ISS," the authors write.

Several of the study authors report financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)