title: A controlled trial of methionyl growth hormone therapy in prepubertal children with short stature, subnormal growth rate and normal growth hormone response to secretagogues. Dutch Growth Hormone Working Group.
abstract: Thirty short and slowly growing children with normal plasma growth hormone (GH) responses to standard provocation tests were randomly assigned to either a group (n = 20) undergoing treatment with methionyl GH (somatrem), 2 IU per m2 body surface s.c. daily, or a control group (n = 10). Twelve out of 18 children who completed the first year of treatment showed a height velocity increment of more than 2 cm/year. The mean (SD) growth velocity of the treatment group increased by 3.0 (1.9) cm/year over the first year, compared with -0.2 (0.7) cm/year in the control group. Neither parameters of endogenous GH secretion nor plasma IGF-I levels showed a significant correlation with the growth response. Of the auxological variables studied, pre-treatment growth velocity (r = -0.8) and the short-term height velocity increment (r = 0.7-0.9) showed significant correlations with the growth response in the first year of treatment. Somatrem therapy was without side effects, except in one child who developed anti-GH antibodies in combination with a poor growth response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University of Utrecht, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wit
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rietveld
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Drop
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Oostdijk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gons
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Otten
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Delemarre-van de Waal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reeser
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Waelkens
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bot
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects*; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone