Growth Hormone, Somatomedins, and Growth Failure

Severe growth hormone deficiency may occur in as many as one in 4,000 children, short stature from less severe deficiency in even more. Replacement therapy is highly effective, but scarcity of HGH restricts treatment to the most severely affected. Since GH acts on skeletal tissues indirectly by stimulating production of the serum peptides called somatomedins, their synthesis may eventually lead to more widespread treatment.