Question
What situations can children benefit from growth hormone treatment?
Answer
Some children undergo growth hormone stimulation tests to assess their deficiency in growth hormone levels. However, these tests can only reflect the normalcy of the peak secretion of growth hormone (i.e., the highest level of secretion) and cannot indicate the total secretion or activity of growth hormone. Moreover, they do not represent the normalcy of the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor axis (GH-IGF). In patients with idiopathic short stature, some may have disordered growth hormone secretion or insufficient sensitivity, or a deficiency in the conversion of growth hormone to IGF, or insufficient sensitivity of receptors, as well as certain defects in the execution or release of IGF by insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-3).