NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with recombinant human growth hormone increases height in children with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH), an inherited disorder characterized by severely diminished leg growth, German researchers report in the June issue of Pediatrics. However, treatment may increase disproportion of truncal growth.
Dr. Otto Mehls of University Children’s Hospital Heidelberg and colleagues studied three initially prepubertal short children between 9 and 11 years old who had XLH.
They were treated with growth hormone for about 3 to 6 years until adult height was reached. The treatment led to a sustained increase in standardized height for all of the children. In fact, their predicted adult height was exceeded by a mean of 6.2 cm.
However, longitudinal growth of the trunk was stimulated more than was leg growth. Compared with baseline, sitting height increased by 1.6 SD whereas there was a median change of only 0.3 SD in leg length. Thus, the pre-existing disproportion was increased.
In light of this outcome, the researchers call for further studies to confirm the “potential negative effect of treatment.”
Source: Pediatrics 2004;113:e593-e596. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Health Occupations: Health Services Administration: Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care): Quality of Health Care: Treatment Outcome: Outcome Assessment (Health Care): Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation: Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms: Biological Sciences: Health CareCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
