Does growth hormone therapy improve height in children with idiopathic short stature?
Growth hormone therapy is effective in increasing short-term growth and adult height in children with idiopathic short stature.
Treatment with GH results in short-term increases in growth for children with idiopathic short stature, and long-term GH can increase adult height. These results are fundamental to decisions about GH use and raise questions about the goals of treatment. Use of GH for idiopathic short stature in clinical practice will depend on its efficacy in promoting growth and the value of this effect to families, physicians, and third-party payers.
Finkelstein et al. (Fri,) studied this question.