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ObjectiveThe Growth Hormone (GH) Research Society (GRS) convened a workshop to address important issues regarding trial design, efficacy, and safety of long-acting growth hormone preparations (LAGH).ParticipantsA closed meeting of 55 international scientists with expertise in GH, including pediatric and adult endocrinologists, basic scientists, regulatory scientists, and participants from the pharmaceutical industry.EvidenceCurrent literature was reviewed for gaps in knowledge. Expert opinion was used to suggest studies required to address potential safety and efficacy issues.Consensus processFollowing plenary presentations summarizing the literature, breakout groups discussed questions framed by the planning committee. Attendees reconvened after each breakout session to share group reports. A writing team compiled the breakout session reports into a draft document that was discussed and revised in an open forum on the concluding day. This was edited further and then circulated to attendees from academic institutions for review after the meeting. Participants from pharmaceutical companies did not participate in the planning, writing, or in the discussions and text revision on the final day of the workshop. Scientists from industry and regulatory agencies reviewed the manuscript to identify any factual errors.ConclusionsLAGH compounds may represent an advance over daily GH injections because of increased convenience and differing phamacodynamic properties, providing the potential for improved adherence and outcomes. Better methods to assess adherence must be developed and validated. Long-term surveillance registries that include assessment of efficacy, cost-benefit, disease burden, quality of life, and safety are essential for understanding the impact of sustained exposure to LAGH preparations.

Pancreatic beta cell apoptosis is important in the pathogenesis and potential treatment of Type 1 diabetes. We investigated whether Humanin, a recently described survival factor for neurons, could improve the survival of beta cells and delay or treat diabetes in the NOD model. Humanin reduced apoptosis induced by serum starvation in NIT-1 cells and decreased apoptosis induced by cytokine treatment. Humanin induced Stat3 and ERK phosphorylation over a 24 hour time course. Specific inhibition of Stat3 resulted in nullifying the protective effect of Humanin. Humanin normalized glucose tolerance in diabetic NOD mice treated for 6-weeks and their pancreata revealed decreased lymphocyte infiltration and severity. In addition, Humanin delayed/prevented the onset of diabetes in NOD mice treated for 20 weeks. In summary, Humanin treatment decreases cytokine-induced apoptosis in beta cells in vitro and improved glucose tolerance and onset of diabetes in NOD mice in vivo. This indicates that Humanin may be useful for islet protection and survival in a spectrum of diabetes-related therapeutics.

BackgroundFew studies have explored the trends in central precocious puberty (CPP) in Asian populations. This study assessed the prevalence and annual incidence of CPP among Korean children.MethodsUsing data from the Korean Health Insurance Review Agency from 2004 to 2010, we reviewed the records of 21,351 children, including those registered with a diagnosis of CPP for the first time and those diagnosed with CPP who were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs.ResultsThe prevalence of CPP was 55.9 per 100,000 girls and 1.7 per 100,000 boys, respectively. The overall incidence of CPP was 15.3 per 100,000 girls, and 0.6 per 100,000 boys. The annual incidence of CPP in girls significantly increased from 3.3 to 50.4 per 100,000 girls; whereas in boys, it gradually increased from 0.3 to 1.2 per 100,000 boys. The annual incidence of CPP in girls consistently increased at all ages year by year, with greater increases at older ages (≥6 years of age), and smaller increases in girls aged < 6 years. In contrast, the annual incidence remained relatively constant in boys aged < 8 years, while a small increase was observed only in boys aged 8 years. The increase of annual incidence showed significant differences depending on age and gender (P <0.0001).ConclusionsThe annual incidence of CPP has substantially increased among Korean girls over the past 7 years. Continued monitoring of CPP trends among Korean children will be informative.