Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
8
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-10-10
pubmed:abstractText
Treatment with recombinant growth hormone (rhGH), 0.6 IU/kg/week s.c., previously successfully conducted for one year, was continued in 15 (Group A) and 8 (Group B) short thalassemia major patients with reduced GH reserve, for two and three years, respectively. In Group A, height for chronological age (Ht SDSCA) increased significantly (p = 0.021) from the start of treatment, but the positive effect was only apparent because of the concomitant slight worsening of height for bone age (Ht SDSBA). Median deltaHt SDSCA/deltaHt SDSBA was <1.0 with respect to both the start (0.87) and the end of the first year of rhGH therapy (0.89). IGF-I levels increased significantly (p = 0.043) compared with values both at the start and at the end of the first year of rhGH therapy. In Group B neither Ht SDSCA nor Ht SDSBA differed statistically from starting values, the former having a positive trend and the latter a negative one. Median deltaHt SDSCA/deltaHt SDSBA was 0.92 with respect to the start, and 0.94 with respect to the end of the second year. IGF-I levels increased significantly (p = 0.043) with respect to starting values. Our data show that the encouraging results described from the first year of rhGH treatment did not persist during the second and third years, and we conclude that this is because increase in bone age with continued treatment is equal to, or slightly greater than the height age increase. We propose that patients with thalassemia major with short stature should receive rhGH treatment for only one year, and that more prolonged treatment should be reserved for selected adolescents who have psychological problems due to shortness; for these patients growth acceleration could represent the main goal, even if this leads to a substantially unchanged or slightly decreased final height.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0334-018X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
14
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1133-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Recombinant growth hormone treatment in short patients with thalassemia major: results after 24 and 36 months.
pubmed:affiliation
Dipartimento di Biomedicina dell'Età Evolutiva-Università di Bari, Italy. lucicava@tin.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Clinical Trial