Research progress on growth hormone therapy for idiopathic short stature and growth hormone deficiency complicated by scoliosis / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Scoliosis is characterized by one or several segments of the spine bending sideways, accompanied by vertebral rotation and sagittal imbalance with complex etiology. Scoliosis can be caused by congenital vertebral abnormalities, asymmetry of the paraspinal muscles due to neurological lesions, and malnutrition or metabolic disorders of bone tissue. Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that plays a key role in promoting human growth and development, especially in bone growth. When the secretion of growth hormone in children or adolescents in the rapid growth stage is insufficient, it may lead to the occurrence of idiopathic short stature (ISS) and growth hormone deficiency (GHD). In clinic, ISS and GHD are mainly treated by recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). According to some early clinical reports, in the process of rhGH treatment, many patients occur scoliosis or the original scoliosis progression is aggravated. Therefore, many scholars conclude that rhGH treatment of ISS or GHD will lead to the occurrence or development of scoliosis. However, with the increase of clinical statistics and the further progress of research, many scholars found that rhGH treatment of ISS or GHD will only increase the Cobb angle of patients with scoliosis, but will not lead to the occurrence of scoliosis, that is, rhGH treatment of ISS or GHD will not increase the prevalence of scoliosis. At present, whether rhGH treatment of ISS and GHD can lead to scoliosis and aggravation of scoliosis remains controversial. Therefore, this paper summarizes and analyzes the correlation research on the risk of scoliosis complications in children treated with rhGH, and concludes that age, gender, body mass index, and growth potential are risk factors for the development or progression of scoliosis during treatment, and discusses the balance of advantages and disadvantages of using rhGH for ISS or GHD to provide a direction for future clinical guidance.