Effects of long-term growth hormone releasing hormone 1-29 in significantly short children.

Seven children with significant idiopathic short stature (SISS) whose heights were significantly below the third percentile (SD score for height -2.5 to -3.5) and who had normal levels of growth hormone (GH) were treated with growth hormone releasing hormone (GH-RH) in a dose of 30 micrograms/kg/day. Therapy was discontinued if patients failed to increase their rates of growth by more than 2.0 cm/year over their pre-therapy growth rate. Treatment was discontinued in two of the patients after 12 months but was continued in the other five for 24 months. These data demonstrate that some patients with SISS grow well during the first 2 years of treatment with GH-RH.