[Treatment of hypophyseal dwarfism with biosynthetic growth hormone]

17 prepubertal children (12 male, 5 female) with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) were treated with a total of 12 IU/m2/week biosynthetic human growth hormone for at least three years. Growth hormone was administered daily by the subcutaneous route. Growth velocity (GV) increased from -2.75 SDS +/- 1.06 (3.58 cm +/- 0.87) to +2.91 SDS +/- 1.73 (8.6 +/- 1.3 cm) after one year of treatment. GV decreased subsequently, but remained above the pretherapeutic values. Height for chronological age increased from -2.68 SDS +/- 0.44 (pretreatment value) to -2.22 SDS +/- 0.49 SDS after one year and to -1.67 +/- 0.6 SDS after 3 years of GH therapy. Analysis of the height of each individual patient after each of the three years of treatment shows a positive correlation to the pretreatment height. Our data stress the need for early diagnosis and treatment of GHD patients because GV remains elevated for three years under therapy with 12 IU GH/m2/week in this group of GHD patients. This results in a height gain in the second and third year of treatment after catch up growth in the first year of therapy. Nevertheless, pretreatment height seems to be an important factor influencing the therapeutic results of GH administration in the individual GHD patient, stressing the need for improving the treatment schedule in patients with the most severe growth retardation.