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[Growth hormone therapy for short children born small for gestational age]

Margaret C S Boguszewski1, César Luiz Boguszewski

  • 1Departamento de Pediatria, Serviço de Endocrinologia e Metabologia do Paraná, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil. margabogus@uol.com.br

Arquivos Brasileiros De Endocrinologia E Metabologia
|September 18, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children born small for gestational age (SGA) who don't experience catch-up growth can achieve normal adult height with growth hormone (GH) therapy. Early treatment is particularly beneficial for these growth-retarded children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Growth disorders
  • Hormone therapy

Context:

  • 10% of children born small for gestational age (SGA) exhibit persistent short stature.
  • Growth hormone/IGF-1 axis abnormalities are not consistently identified in these cases.
  • Growth hormone (GH) therapy is a recognized treatment for growth failure.

Purpose:

  • To review the efficacy of GH treatment in children born SGA with short stature.
  • To highlight the benefits of early intervention with GH therapy.

Summary:

  • Growth hormone (GH) therapy is effective and well-tolerated in children born small for gestational age (SGA) who fail to achieve adequate catch-up growth.
  • Most children treated with GH reach a normal adult height.
  • Early initiation of GH treatment yields encouraging results for growth-retarded children.

Impact:

  • Provides evidence supporting GH therapy for short stature in SGA children.
  • Emphasizes the importance of timely treatment for optimizing adult height outcomes.
  • Informs clinical practice regarding the management of growth failure in SGA populations.

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