Patient's question:
What situations can children encounter to use growth hormone treatment?What kind of help is needed: What situations can children encounter to use growth hormone treatment?
Doctor's answer:
Some children may undergo growth hormone stimulation tests to determine if they are deficient in growth hormone. However, these tests only reflect whether the peak excretion of growth hormone (i.e., the highest level of excretion) is normal, and cannot reflect the total excretion of growth hormone or its activity. They also do not indicate whether the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor axis (GH-IGF) is normal. In patients with idiopathic short stature, some may have growth hormone excretion disorders or insufficient sensitivity, or certain defects in the conversion of growth hormone to IGF, or insufficient receptor sensitivity, or defects in the release or function of insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-3).