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Restricted catch‐up growth after cessation of steroid treatment in a growth‐hormone‐deficient child
Author(s) -
Boersma B,
Wit JM
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14202.x
Subject(s) - medicine , growth hormone , endocrinology , growth hormone treatment , stimulus (psychology) , growth retardation , human growth hormone , linear growth , growth hormone deficiency , hormone , pregnancy , biology , psychology , mathematics , psychotherapist , genetics
The phenomenon of catch‐up growth has been known for a long time but its actual stimulus has remained unidentified. Involvement of growth hormone (GH) seems likely, but it is unknown whether normal GH secretion is an absolute prerequisite for catch‐up growth. We present insight to this topic by describing a child with GH deficiency who showed a biphasic pattern of catch‐up growth. During the first catch‐up phase, she showed restricted catch‐up growth in the absence of GH therapy, while she achieved nearly complete catch‐up with GH therapy. Both periods of catch‐up growth are compared separately with the response to GH therapy of age‐matched, GH deficient patients with similar height deficit. This observation suggests that the first phase of catch‐up growth in a child with severe growth retardation may be partially GH independent, while further catch‐up requires normal GH levels.