[Growth hormone treatment in children with short stature due to IUGR].
Most of the children with intrauterine growth retardation show fair catch-up growth by two years of age, while approximately 10% of them fails the catch-up and remains short as adult. Growth hormone has been applied to those who stay short (height<-2SD of mean) in relatively high dose, and favorable results come out in terms of not only height but also psychosocial positiveness. The long-term out come, however, should be carefully monitored, especially the effect of early pubertal onset for height and pubertal height gain on the final height, and metabolic effect of long-term pharmacological dose of GH exposure from early childhood, such as glucose intolerance.
Horikawa
Reiko
R
Division of Adolescent medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development.