Children and teenagers whose growth was held back by Crohn's disease grew taller and had better bone mineral and body composition after treatment with growth hormone, a US study suggests.
Earlier studies had given conflicting results, Dr Melvin Heyman and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, noted in the November issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.
They treated ten patients aged 4.8 to 19.6 years with a daily injection under the skin of man-made (recombinant) growth hormone, 0.043 mg per kg, for a year. Average body mass index didn't change much, but the share of lean body mass (muscle and bone) increased.
The researchers noted that a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D didn't correct the bone loss seen in children with Crohn's disease. Bisphosphonates are one treatment option, but the new results suggest growth hormone could be a good alternative.
Eight treated patients were compared with matched untreated patients. The treated children's growth rose from 3.00 cm a year to 8.32 cm a year, compared with 3.98 to 4.94 cm a year in the untreated children. The study suggests that long-term growth hormone could treat poor growth in children with Crohn's disease.
Like
Love
Angry
Dislike
