II. Indications
- Medical Uses: Enhances growth in Short Stature
- See Short Stature
- Growth Hormone Deficiency
- Turner Syndrome
- Chronic Renal Failure
- Prader-Willi Syndrome
- Small for Gestational Age
- Noonan Syndrome
- Short Stature homeobox-containing gene deficiency (SHOX)
- Idiopathic Short Stature
- Small for Gestational Age infant (or IUGR) with failed catch up growth by age 2 years
- Illicit uses
- Ergogenic Aid used by athletes
- Similar effect as with Anabolic Steroids
- Difficult to detect
- Expensive (>$1000/month)
III. Medications
- Initially derived from cadavers in 1950's
- Transmitted Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease to patients
- Now produced by recombinant Genetics
IV. Dosing
- Available only via injection (cost $25,000/year in 2025)
V. Adverse Effects
- Acromegaly
- Glucose Intolerance or Diabetes Mellitus
- Headache
- Myalgias
- Cardiovascular
- Other associations
- May be related to Leukemia development
- Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
- Scoliosis
VI. Efficacy
- When used in children with Short Stature (and appropriate indications)
- Expect 4 to 9 cm mean height growth (1.6 to 3.5 inches)
- Rogol (2022) Horm Res Paediatr 95(6): 515-28 [PubMed]
VII. Resources
- Genotropin- Somatropin kit (DailyMed)