The Effect of Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone Agonist with or without Growth Hormone Treatment on Predicted Adult Height in Girls with Early Puberty / 대한소아내분비학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Many recent studies have been performed to improve adult height in short normal girls with early puberty by arresting rapid pubertal progression. We evaluated the effect of combined therapy with growth hormone (GH) and gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) on predicted adult height in girls with early puberty, comparing them with a group treated with GnRHa alone. METHODS: Twenty eight girls with early puberty were classified into two groups and treated for an average 18 months. Group I of 18 girls was treated with GnRHa alone (leuprolide acetate; dosage 30-90 mcg/kg, s.c. every 28 days) and group II of 10 girls was treated in combination with GH (dosage 0.1 IU/kg, s.c. 5-7 days/week). Two groups were compared in terms of bone age, height, sexual maturity, and predicted adult height at the start and after the treatment. RESULTS: Two groups were not significantly different from each other in chronologic age, bone age, weight, target height, and sexual maturity before and after treatment. After treatment, group I showed predicted adult height (157.1+/-6.2 cm) which was comparable to target height (157.1+/-3.7 cm) and was not significantly higher than predicted adult height before treatment (156.0+/-6.5). On the contrary, group II showed predicted adult height (158.5+/-4.6 cm) which was comparable to target height (156.2+/-3.6 cm), but significantly higher than predicted adult height before treatment (154.2+/-7.4 cm) (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GH and GnRHa combination treatment is more effective than GnRHa treatment alone to improve predicted adult height in girls with early puberty.