Comparison of growth and somatomedin C responses following growth hormone treatment in children with small-for-date short stature, significant idiopathic short stature and hypopituitarism

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Abstract
Somatomedin-C (Sm-C) and growth hormone (GH) levels were determined before, during and after human GH (hGH) treatment in 18 children with small-for-date short stature (SDSS), 7 children with significant idiopathic short stature (SISS) and 14 children with hypopituitarism. Data on the acute effects of hGH on Sm-C were compared to growth responses after 6-9 mo. therapy. Eleven of the 25 non-hypopituitary patients with normal basal and stimulated serum GH levels and normal basal Sm-C levels increased their rates of growth > 3.0 cm/yr. This compared with 11 of the 14 children with hypopituitarism who increased their rates of growth by at least 3.0 cm/yr when treated with GH. Neither the basal somatomedin levels nor the GH-stimulated somatomedin levels correlated well with subsequent growth in the non-hypopituitary patients. GH therapy may be effective in treating short stature in children without demonstrable GH deficiency.