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Growth hormone treatment for growth failure in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease

Melvin B Heyman1, Elizabeth A Garnett, Janet Wojcicki

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0136, USA. mheyman@peds.ucsf.edu

The Journal of Pediatrics
|July 1, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Human growth hormone (GH) injections significantly improved height velocity and bone mineralization in children with Crohn's disease (CD). Further randomized trials are needed to confirm these findings for growth-impaired pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Metabolic Bone Disease

Background:

  • Children with Crohn's disease (CD) often experience impaired growth and poor height velocity.
  • Growth hormone deficiency can exacerbate growth issues in pediatric CD patients.
  • Optimizing growth in pediatric CD is crucial for long-term health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of recombinant human growth hormone (GH) injections in improving growth velocity in children with CD.
  • To assess the impact of GH treatment on body composition and bone mineral density in this cohort.
  • To identify potential benefits of GH therapy for growth-impaired children with Crohn's disease.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 10 growth-impaired children with CD received daily subcutaneous recombinant GH for one year.
  • Patients were retrospectively matched with untreated controls based on age, sex, race, and baseline height.
  • Primary outcome was height velocity; secondary outcomes included body composition and bone density via DXA scan.

Main Results:

  • GH treatment led to a significant increase in mean height velocity (5.33 cm/year) compared to controls (0.96 cm/year).
  • Height and weight z-scores significantly improved in the GH-treated group versus the control group.
  • Lumbar spine bone mineral density z-score showed a significant increase post-GH treatment.

Conclusions:

  • Recombinant human GH therapy effectively increases height velocity in children with Crohn's disease.
  • GH treatment may also contribute to enhanced bone mineralization in pediatric CD patients.
  • A large, randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm the long-term benefits of GH in this population.
Abstract

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