GH treatment before puberty in idiopathic short stature

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) has been treated with GH in many clinical trials, with a variety of outcomes measured. In this long-term study by van Gool et al., forty children with no signs of puberty aged 4-8 years (girls) and 4-10 years (boys) were randomly allocated to receive GH at a dose of 2 mg/m2 for at least two years until the onset of puberty.

GH-treated children showed an increased mean height when the treatment was stopped compared with controls, and pubertal onset was generally seen to advance. After 3-12 years without GH treatment adult height was measured and found to be similar in treated individuals and controls. The authors found that GH treatment significantly accelerates bone mass, which was probably the cause of the similar adult heights in treated and control groups. van Gool et al. High-dose GH treatment limited to the prepubertal period in young children with idiopathic short stature does not increase adult height. European Journal of Endocrinology, 162, 653–660.

DOI: 10.1530/EJE-09-0880