Oxandrolone Therapy of Growth Retardation

IN ANIMALS and man oxandrolone * (17 alpha-methyl-2-oxa-5 alpha androstan-17 betaol-3-one), a steroid with an oxygen replacing carbon 2 in ring A, has proved to be an effective protein anabolic agent with low virilizing properties.1-4We have administered this agent for 1 to 3 years to 12 children with growth retardation and various concomitants. In keeping with the reports of others5,6we have found that it may increase vertical growth and that it did not accelerate skeletal maturation. The studies herein described also indicate that the decrease in serum PBI noted during its administration is accompanied by a decrease in the binding of thyroxine to thyroxine binding globulin (TBG), presumably as a result of a decrease in the TBG. Materials and Methods A total of 12 children below the third percentile for height and ranging in age from 3 years 7 months to 17 years 7 months at the