Growth hormone therapy can help make short kids taller

Washington, Nov 7 : Growth hormone therapy can significantly increase height in children with short stature, says a new study.

The study involving 150 short children, followed over a period of 20 years showed that growth hormone was effective in increasing the final height of in GH deficient children with short stature, as well as non GH deficient kids. However, further studies are still required.

The kids were randomized to no treatment, low GH dosage, or high GH dosage. The treatment could increase their height to nearly eight inches.

"In our study, dose dependent GH treatment increased final height in children with short stature who are not GH deficient with a mean gain of more than three inches, with some cases seeing a gain of nearly eight inches," said Dr Kestin Albertsson-Wikland, Ph.D., professor at the Goteborg Pediatric Growth Research Center at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and lead author of the study.

"There are many variables known to affect the growth response to GH treatment, such as birth length and early growth during the first years of life.

"Our study also found that children from parents of normal height respond better to treatment than those from short parents," Albertsson-Wikland added.

The study will be published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

ANI