[Relationship between height velocity and growth hormone secretion in normal and short prepubertal children]

In 60 prepubertal children of both sexes, aged between 6.4 and 15.5 years, with normal or short stature and growing with heigh velocity standard aviation scores (SDS) between 2.69 and -5.75, we has performed 12h noctunral growh hormone (GH) profiles. We found a statistically significant relationship between growth velocity and growth hormone secreation in the group of 60 children with different degrees of GH deficiency, short normal children and children with normal stature. The relationship was expressed with a logarithmic type of curve. In the gruop of 13 children with constituonal growth delay or in the group of 9 children with the familial short stature, we did not find a significant relationship between growth velocity and GH secretion. In the group of short children with complete GH deficiency there were marked individual differences in growth velocity after the beginning of thyroid replacement therapy; children with secondary hypothyroidsm were growing significantly faster than children with normal thyreotrpic function. In our opinion the height velocity is controlled with thyroid hormones, genetic influences, and possibly, with other unknown factors which operate independntly of GH secreation during prepubertal years.