Effect of Human Growth Hormone Therapy on Head Circumference in Children With Hypopituitarism

Abstract

Head circumference was measured before and during hGH therapy in fourteen children with isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) and in twenty-one children with multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD). In both groups there was a retardation in growth of the neurocranium, more marked in the children with IGHD, which was less than the retardation in linear height. In the group with IGHD, initiation of hGH therapy before a chronological age of 5 and a bone age of 3 had been reached led to a rapid catch-up in cranial growth with normalization of the head size. In older children the induction of head growth was similar to that achieved by the long bones but without a true catch-up phenomenon. In three adults with hereditary IGHD without therapy or with irregular treatment during late puberty, the head circumference was below normal range. In view of the possible role played by development of brain tissue upon cranial size, the importance of early diagnosis and initiation of therapy in infants and young children with a deficiency of hGH is stressed.

Longitudinal anthropometric measurements in patients with growth hormone deficiency. Effect of human growth hormone treatment

“…However, the head circumferences in all the groups of our patients showed less catch up than in the patients of Laron et al (1979). This may be due to the fact that their patients were younger than ours, and that different standards for normal head circumference were used (Laron et al 1980;Zachmann and Sorgo 1980).…”

Head circumference in untreated and IGF-I treated patients with Laron syndrome

“…One of the characteristics of infantile and childhood GH deficiency is small HC [18,19] which responds to hGH treatment [19,20]. Similarly we found that children with LS, i.e.…”

“…Also hormones, such as growth hormones (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) affect CNS development and brain growth [6][7][8]. The simplest and most frequently used measure of brain size and development is head circumference measurement [9][10][11][12] as the two measurements show a linear correlation [12][13][14].…”

The Role of Growth Hormone in Stunted Head Growth after Cranial Irradiation

“…Thus before G H therapy, patients with isolated G H deficiency have mean OFC SD scores ranging from -1.3 to -2.6 compared to height SD score deficits of -4.2 to -5.7 (15-17), and they do not have impaired IQ scores (18). Treatment with GH leads to catch-up head growth in young IGHD patients (<5 yr) and prevention of further loss in relative head size in the older IGHD child (>9 yr) (16). Intelligence is not altered by GH therapy (18).…”