Update on the use of long-acting growth hormone in children.

Purpose Of Review: After extensive research and many years of waiting, long-acting growth hormone (LAGH) formulations have finally become a reality in clinical practice and emerge as a potential solution to address the challenges of daily injections of recombinant human GH (rhGH). In this review, we present a brief history of the development of LAGH and provide a critical analysis of the existing literature on the five LAGH available and approved to date for treatment in children.

Recent Findings: In clinical trials, LAGH therapy has shown noninferiority compared with daily rhGH therapy in promoting linear growth in children with GH deficiency, with similar rates of adverse events.

The science behind the relations among cancer, height, growth patterns, and growth hormone axis.

The association between growth hormone (GH) and carcinogenesis has long been postulated. The rationale for this association is that several components of the GH axis play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis and have been tested as targets for cancer therapy. Epidemiological and clinical studies have examined the association between height, growth patterns, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) levels with the most common types of malignancies, while genome-wide association studies have revealed several height-associated genes linked to cancer and/or metastasis-driving pathways.

The challenge of long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood acute leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in resource-limited countries: A single-center report from Brazil.

With the number of long-term HSCT survivors steadily increasing, attention needs to be focused on the late complications and quality of life. We therefore analyzed the outcome of 101 pediatric patients (<18 years old at the time of HSCT) transplanted for acute leukemia between 1981 and 2015 at Complexo Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil, and who survived at least two years after HSCT. The median follow-up was 5.

From dwarves to giants: South American's contribution to the history of growth hormone and related disorders.

The aim of this article is to present a historical review on giants and dwarves living in South America and the contribution of South America's researchers to scientific advances on growth hormone (GH) and human disorders related to GH excess and GH deficiency (GHD). We went back in time to investigate facts and myths stemming from countless reports of giants who lived in the Patagonia region, focusing on what is currently known about gigantism in South America. Additionally, we have reviewed the exceptional work carried out in two of the world's largest cohorts of dwarfism related to GH-IGF axis: one living in Itabaianinha, Brazil, suffering from severe GHD due to a mutation in the GHRH receptor (GHRHR) gene, and the other living in El Oro and Loja provinces of Ecuador, who are carriers of GH receptor gene mutation that causes total GH insensitivity (Laron syndrome).

Growth Hormone's Links to Cancer.

Several components of the GH axis are involved in tumor progression, and GH-induced intracellular signaling has been strongly associated with breast cancer susceptibility in genome-wide association studies. In the general population, high IGF-I levels and low IGF-binding protein-3 levels within the normal range are associated with the development of common malignancies, and components of the GH-IGF signaling system exhibit correlations with clinical, histopathological, and therapeutic parameters in cancer patients. Despite promising findings in preclinical studies, anticancer therapies targeting the GH-IGF signaling system have led to disappointing results in clinical trials.

MANAGEMENT OF ENDOCRINE DISEASE: Growth and growth hormone therapy in short children born preterm.

Approximately 15 million babies are born preterm across the world every year, with less than 37 completed weeks of gestation. Survival rates increased during the last decades with the improvement of neonatal care. With premature birth, babies are deprived of the intense intrauterine growth phase, and postnatal growth failure might occur.

Growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor system and carcinogenesis.

The growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. In terms of cell cycle regulation, the GH-IGF system induces signalling pathways for cell growth that compete with other signalling systems that result in cell death; thus the final effect of these opposed forces is critical for normal and abnormal cell growth. The association of the GH-IGF system with carcinogenesis has long been hypothesised, mainly based on in vitro studies and the use of a variety of animal models of human cancer, and also on epidemiological and clinical evidence in humans.

The influence of glycemic control on the oral health of children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of disease control, expressed by the mean values of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), in the oral health of children and adolescents with diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM).

Subjects And Methods: A cross sectional study involving 87 children and adolescents (59 girls), 10 ± 2.6 years old.

[Assessment of diastolic function in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus - are there early signs of diabetic cardiomyopathy?].

Objectives: To evaluate diastolic function (DF) of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1).

Subjects And Methods: Cross-sectional study of 67 otherwise healthy diabetic patients, and a control group (n = 84) in regard to age, sex, body mass index (BMI), Dopplere-chocardiography, and ECG for both groups; and disease duration, HbA1C, microalbuminuria, and serum lipids for DM 1 patients.

Results: Diastolic alterations [(A and E mitral waves, E/A ratio, isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) and E wave deceleration time (EWDT)] were found in diabetic patients, with higher prevalence among pubertal girls (13-17 years old).

[Metabolic syndrome in adolescents of different nutritional status].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents of different nutritional status.

Subjects And Methods: The sample consisted of 582 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Body mass index (BMI) classification of nutritional status was performed using the NCHS growth charts.

[Growth of preterm-born children].

Children born prematurely might experience a period of growth restriction just after birth. Catch-up growth begins during the first months of life and can be slow and progressive. These children may remain shorter and thinner throughout infancy and childhood compared to children born at term.

[Final height (FH) in Turner syndrome (TS): experience of 76 cases followed at the Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Hospital de Clinicas, Federal University of Paraná].

Objective: To report the final height (FH) of 76 patients with Turner syndrome (TS).

Materials And Methods: Review of the files and calculation of z scores: of target height (TH), and FH according to NCHS/CDC/2000 and FH according to Lyon and cols.

Results: Patients were classified in three groups: A (n = 16), treatment with estrogens and progestogens; B (n = 21), treatment with oxandrolone (OX); C (n = 39), growth hormone (GH) plus OX.

[Atherosclerotic risk factors associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and BMI in adolescents].

Previous research has demonstrated high prevalence of atherosclerotic risk factors in adolescents; however, the associate factors related to its onset are unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to relate inadequate blood pressure levels, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides (TG) with different VO2máx and BMI levels in a sample of 249 adolescents, aged between 12 to 16 years old. For VO2máx prediction, the 20 meters test was used.

[Transient neonatal hypothyroidism due to amiodarone administration during pregnancy--two cases report and review of literature].

Introduction: Amiodarone (AMD) is an antiarrhythmic agent which contains 37% of iodine. It can reach the fetus by transplacental passage and induce transient congenital hypothyroidism (TCH). We report two cases of TCH caused by gestational exposure to AMD, detected by the Newborn Screening Program for Congenital Hypothyroidism of the State of Paraná-Brazil.