Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Growth Hormone Therapy by IGF-1 Z Score in Children with Short Stature.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to explore the safety and efficacy of growth hormone (GH) therapy by retrospectively analyzing the changes of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) Z-scores in children with short stature after treatment with GH. METHODS: The etiology of 104 children with short stature was classified according to the GH stimulation test and IGF-1 levels: (1) growth hormone deficiency (GHD); (2) mild growth hormone deficiency (M-GHD); (3) idiopathic short stature (ISS); (4) GH insensitivity syndrome (GHIS). In addition, all patients were treated with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) for 12 months, and the growth rate (Gv), height, body mass, bone age, height standard deviation scores (HtSDS), IGF-1 and adverse reactions were compared among these three groups before and after treatment. RESULTS: The height, body mass, Gv and HtSDS were significantly higher in each group compared with those before treatment. Furthermore, the Z-score of IGF-1 significantly increased after 1 month of GH treatment and was positively correlated with the dosage of GH. Moreover, the difference in standard deviation score was significantly positively correlated with the increase in standard deviation score of IGF-1. CONCLUSION: The detection of the GH-IGF-1 axis function can be carried out for the etiologic diagnosis of short stature. IGF-1 increased after rhGH treatment, and IGF-1 level was correlated to the time of therapy and dosage of GH. IGF-1-based GH dosing targeted to age- and gender-adjusted means may save medical costs and offer a more dose-sparing and potentially safer mode of therapy compared with traditional weight-based dosing.

[Expression of the MYL2 gene in the development of rat testis tissue].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of the gene of myosin regulatory light chain-2 (MYL2) in the development of rat testis tissue. METHODS: Using real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry, we determined the mRNA transcription level and protein expression of MYL2 in the rat testis. RESULTS: The mRNA expression of the MYL2 gene changed in an age-dependent manner, reaching the highest value on postnatal day (PND) 2, then dropped rapidly till PND 8, increased slowly on PNDs 10 and 12, decreased on PND 14, rose slightly from PND 15 and rapidly on PNDs 20 and 25, and declined slowly from PND 65. Immunohistochemistry showed that the MYL2 protein was mainly expressed in testicular sperm cells. CONCLUSIONS: The MYL2 gene may be involved in the proliferation of spermatogonial stem cells and the process of sperm cells developing into mature sperm.