Recombinant human growth hormone treatment in children with thalassemia major

• Published in: Pediatrics international 1999-12, Vol.41 (6), p.655-661
• Main Authors: Arcasoy, AYTEN, Öcal, GÖNÜL, Kemahli, SABRI, Berberoİlu, MERIH, Yildirmak, YILDIZ, Canatan, DURAN, Akçurin, SEMA, Akar, NEJAT, Uysal, ZÜMRÜT, Adiyaman, PELIN, Çetinkaya, ERGUN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; beta-Thalassemia - complications; Body Height; Child; Female; Growth Disorders - complications; Growth Disorders - drug therapy; growth hormone; growth retardation; Human Growth Hormone - therapeutic use; Humans; Male; Recombinant Proteins - therapeutic use; Statistics, Nonparametric; thalassemia
• ISSN: 1328-8067; 1442-200X
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1442-200x.1999.01139.x

Background: To evaluate the growth hormone reserve and the growth hormone response to recombinant human growth hormone (GH) in prepubertal thalassemic children with growth retardation. Methods: Twenty thalassemic patients with short stature and delayed bone age were studied. Patients were randomized into GH‐treated (n=10) and non‐GH treated (control; n=10) groups. The GH‐treated group received recombinant human (rh)‐GH (Genotropin) at the dose of 0.7 IU/kg per week for 12 months. Results: There was a significant discordance between GH response to pharmacologic stimuli and physiological secretion of GH/GHRH testing. Following the administration of rhGH, growth velocity increased from 2.47~0.48 cm/year to 6.27~0.76 cm/year (P=0.005), whereas there was not a similar change in the non‐GH‐treated group. The height velocities of the two groups during the 1 year follow‐up period were significantly different (6.27~0.76 vs 3.99~0.34 cm/year; P=0.025). There were significant differences between the height velocity improvements and height velocity standard deviation scores of the two groups as well. Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated that rhGH is a safe and efficacious mode of treatment in thalassemic children.