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Article: Is Human Growth Hormone Overprescribed?; Many Short Children Are Taking It Without a Medical Reason, Study Finds
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 27, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Kids don't like being short. They hate those playground
nicknames -- "shorty," "pint-sized," "short-stuff." And many say
they carry psychological scars into adulthood from being short as a
child.
Until 11 years ago there was little that medicine could do to
help short children who were otherwise normal. The most common cause
of short stature is genetics -- short children are the offspring of
short parents.
For a small number of children, reduced stature is a result of
the failure of their bodies to produce naturally enough human growth
hormone to allow normal growth. In 1958, doctors found a way to
treat them with small amounts of the hormone, which was derived from
the pituitary ...