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Article: Growth Hormone Use.
- Article from:
- Pediatrics for Parents
- Article date:
- June 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Short stature may signal a deficiency of growth hormone. But it may not. There are tests to determine if a child has low levels of growth hormone. If so, these children's growth rate increases with supplement growth hormone.
Using growth hormone in short statured children with normal growth hormone levels is controversial. Growth hormone does initially increase the rate of growth in children with normal growth hormone levels. That's good. But the hormone also accelerates the rate of bone maturation. The faster the bones mature, the sooner the growth stops.
A study of 27 boys with non-growth-hormone-deficient short statue found that using growth hormone ...