Growth Hormone Deficiency | Diagnosis & Treatments
How we diagnose growth hormone deficiency
The first step in treating your child is forming an accurate and complete diagnosis. Before a growth hormone deficiency diagnosis can be made, your child's physician may have to rule out other disorders first, including genetic short stature (inherited family shortness), inadequate caloric intake, thyroid hormone deficiency, and other illnesses, including gastrointestinal problems.
In addition to learning your child's complete medical history, gathering information about the heights and any health problems of your relatives, and conducting a physical examination, your child's doctor may:
- monitor your child's growth over a period of time
- review the mother's pregnancy, labor, and delivery
- draw a small amount of blood to look for evidence of other diseases
- arrange for an x-ray of your child's hand and wrist (to compare bone development with chronological age and determine growth potential)
- measure amounts of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in the blood, which are produced when the liver and other tissues are stimulated by growth hormone
Since growth hormone is produced in bursts, it is unlikely that any single blood sample will provide a definitive diagnosis.
If growth hormone deficiency is suspected, your physician may use a stimulant of growth hormone secretion (which may include vigorous exercise and/or several chemicals and medications), and measure the growth hormone release over time.
If growth hormone deficiency is diagnosed, your physician may order an MRI of the brain to look at the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
After we complete all necessary tests, our experts meet to review and discuss what they have learned about your child's condition. Then we will meet with you and your family to discuss the results and outline the best treatment options.
Researchers are currently working on more efficient and accurate ways of diagnosing growth hormone deficiency.
How we treat growth hormone deficiency
Our physicians are focused on child-centered care, and we're known for our science-driven approach. Our experienced doctors know that growth hormone deficiencies are complex problems that can take different forms from patient to patient. Such an individualized illness may demand several thorough diagnostic tests and treatment specifically tailored to your child.
Typically, treatment of growth hormone deficiency involves receiving regular injections of synthetic human growth hormone, and children receive daily injections. Treatment usually lasts several years, although results are often seen as soon as three to four months after the injections are started.
The earlier treatment for growth hormone deficiency is started, the better chance the child will have of attaining her normal or near-normal adult height. However, not all children respond well to growth hormone treatment.
Children who have mutations that make their cells unresponsive to the growth hormone may be treated with injections of synthetic human IGF-1 instead.
- These injections are reserved for patients who are extremely short and have very low IGF-1 levels, but who passed their growth hormone stimulation testing.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that therapy with growth hormone is medically and ethically acceptable for children:
- with classic growth hormone deficiency
- awaiting kidney transplantation who have chronic renal insufficiency
- with Turner syndrome (females)
- whose extreme short stature prohibits their participation in everyday activities and who have a condition that will benefit from growth hormone therapy
How safe is treatment for growth hormone deficiency?
While there are many potential side effects, particularly if growth hormone is used to treat children who don't have a true hormone deficiency, researchers generally agree that treatment with human growth hormone is safe and effective. In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a biosynthetic growth hormone, thus:
- eliminating the risk of disease transmission from human growth hormone (previously, the only source of this hormone had been from the pituitary glands of the deceased)
- creating an unlimited supply of the hormone
Please consult your child's physician for more information.
Growth hormone deficiency may make your child feel insecure or self-conscious, and if appropriate, we can also put you in touch with mental health professionals to help with any negative feelings your child may be experiencing.
Coping and support
We understand that you may have a lot of questions when your child is diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. How will it affect my child long-term? What do we do next? We've tried to provide some answers to those questions on this site, but there are also a number of other resources to guide you and your family through diagnosis and treatment.
Patient education: From the first office visit, our nurses will be on hand to walk you through your child's treatment and help answer any questions you may have — What is treatment like? Are there any side effects? They will also reach out to you by phone, continuing the care and support you received while at Children's.
Parent to parent: Want to talk with someone whose child has been treated for growth hormone deficiency? We can often put you in touch with other families who can share their experience.
Social work: Our social workers and mental health clinicians have helped many other families in your situation. Your social worker can offer counseling and assistance with issues such as stresses relating to small stature, coping with your child's growth hormone deficiency diagnosis, and dealing with financial difficulties.
On our patient resources pages, you can read all you need to know about:
