Effects of growth hormone on body proportions in Turner syndrome compared with non-treated patients and normal women.
BACKGROUND
The majority of anthropometric assessments in Turner syndrome (TS) patients has focused on height.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze body proportions in young adult TS patients either treated or not treated with rhGH, and to compare them with a group of age-matched healthy women.


METHODS
Standing height, sitting height, weight, foot and leg lengths, arm span, head circumference, biliac and biacromial diameters were measured in 52 non-treated TS patients, 30 treated with rhGH and 133 healthy women.


RESULTS
Age at the start of rhGH therapy varied from 7.8 to 15.1 yr (10.0±1.3 yr), the duration of treatment from 2.8 to 8.2 yr (3.7±1.5 yr) and the mean recombinant human GH (rhGH) dose was 0.42 mg/kg/week (from 0.32 to 0.50 mg/kg/week). Nontreated patients did not show any difference in anthropometric variables when compared with the treated ones, except for hand length (p=0.02) and height (p=0.05), which were increased in the treated group. All anthropometric variables, except head circumference, were different when comparing TS patients (either treated or not) with age-matched healthy women.


CONCLUSIONS
Brazilian TS patients either treated or not with rhGH showed almost no differences in terms of their body proportions. This result is probably due to the late age at the start of treatment, and/or the short period of rhGH administration. Hand length was different between the groups, showing the importance of including the extremities in body proportion assessment during rhGH treatment of TS patients.
Baldin
A D
AD
Paediatric Endocrinology, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, PO Box 6111, University of Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Fabbri
T
T
Siviero-Miachon
A A
AA
Spinola-Castro
A M
AM
Lemos-Marini
S H V
SH
Baptista
M T M
MT
D'Souza-Li
L F R
LF
Maciel-Guerra
A T
AT
Guerra
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects; D049628:Body Size / Q000187:drug effects*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006262:Health; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D014424:Turner Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
D019382:Human Growth Hormone