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Evaluation of cutaneous modifications in seventy-seven growth hormone-deficient children
F Conte1, S Diridollou, B Jouret
1Centre de Recherche sur la Croissance, Pavillon Leriche, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Purpan, Toulouse, France.
Insights
Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in children causes thinner, stiffer, and less elastic skin. Growth hormone (GH) treatment improved skin thickness and stiffness, suggesting GH influences cutaneous parameters.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Dermatology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is a condition affecting childhood development.
- The impact of GHD on cutaneous parameters is not well understood.
- Noninvasive methods allow for the evaluation of skin properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cutaneous differences in children with GHD compared to healthy controls.
- To assess the effect of growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy on skin properties in GHD children.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated dermal thickness, stiffness, elasticity, skin surface lipid, and hydration using noninvasive techniques.
- Compared 77 GHD children (pre-treatment) with 70 non-GHD children.
- Re-evaluated 14 GHD children after one year of GH treatment.
Main Results:
- GHD children exhibited thinner, stiffer, and less elastic dermis compared to controls (p < 0.0001).
- GH treatment significantly improved dermal thickness and skin stiffness in GHD children (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05).
- Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels correlated positively with dermal thickness in GHD children.
Conclusions:
- Children with GHD present distinct alterations in skin properties.
- GH treatment positively influences these cutaneous modifications, particularly skin thickness and stiffness.
- Further research is warranted to explore the broader implications of these GH-induced skin changes.
Abstract:
Cutaneous parameters such as dermal thickness, stiffness, elasticity, skin surface lipid and hydration were evaluated using noninvasive methods in 77 growth hormone-deficient (GHD) children before replacement therapy and in 70 non-GHD children. We showed that in GHD children, dermis was thinner (0.70 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.80 +/- 0.10 mm, p < 0.0001 for prepubertal children and 0.81 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.94 +/- 0.11 mm, p < 0.0001 for pubertal children), stiffer (178.5 +/- 57.3 vs. 113.09 +/- 37 kPa, p < 0.0001 for prepubertal children and 172.5 +/- 61.7 vs. 117.3 +/- 42.5 kPa for pubertal children, p < 0.001) and less elastic (0.44 +/- 0.09 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.06 (nonelasticity index), p < 0.01 for prepubertal children and 0.39 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.33 +/- 0.04, p < 0.001 for pubertal children) compared to controls. Fourteen GHD children were re-evaluated after 1 year of GH treatment: dermal thickness and skin stiffness were significantly improved (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05 respectively) while elasticity was not modified. During the same period, 11 controls did not show any significant cutaneous modification. IGF-1 values, but not IGFBP-3 values, correlated positively with dermal thickness in GHD children, before and after 1 year of GH treatment. To conclude, GHD children exhibited specific cutaneous modifications. In a subset of GHD children, we showed that these modifications were influenced by GH treatment. More extensive studies are needed to see if these changes correlated with other GH effects.