Final height outcome after three years of growth hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment in short adolescents with relatively early puberty.

Objective: Our objective was to assess final height (FH) and adverse effects of combined GH and GnRH agonist (GnRHa) treatment in short adolescents born small for gestational age or with normal birth size (idiopathic short stature).

Design And Patients: Thirty-two adolescents with Tanner stage 2-3, age and bone age (BA) less than 12 yr for girls or less than 13 yr for boys, height sd score (SDS) less than -2.0 SDS or between -1.

High dose growth hormone treatment induces acceleration of skeletal maturation and an earlier onset of puberty in children with idiopathic short stature.

Background: Long term growth hormone (GH) treatment in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) results in a relatively small mean gain in final height of 3-9 cm, which may not justify the cost of treatment. As it is unknown whether GH treatment during puberty adds to final height gain, we sought to improve the cost-benefit ratio, employing a study design with high dose GH treatment restricted to the prepubertal period.

Aims: To assess the effect of short term, high dose GH treatment before puberty on growth, bone maturation, and pubertal onset.

A randomized controlled trial of three years growth hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment in children with idiopathic short stature and intrauterine growth retardation.

We assessed the effectiveness and safety of 3 yr combined GH and GnRH agonist (GnRHa) treatment in a randomized controlled study in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS) or intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Gonadal suppression, GH reserve, and adrenal development were assessed by hormone measurements in both treated children and controls during the study period. Thirty-six short children, 24 girls (16 ISS/8 IUGR) and 12 boys (8 ISS/4 IUGR), with a height SD score of -2 SD or less in early puberty (girls, B2-3; boys, G2-3), were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 18) with GH (genotropin 4 IU/m(2).