ESPE Abstracts

Background: Turner syndrome (TS) is one of the most common causes of short stature in females. Adult height of patients with TS is 20 cm shorter than in general population. GH therapy improves height outcome in girls with TS; results depend on age at diagnosis, duration of therapy, and doses of GH.

Objective: To evaluate growth and safety during the first 4 years of GH treatment in patients with TS.

Method: Eight prepubertal girls with TS were included mean age of 11.54 years. They were treated with a mean dose of GH=0.037 mg/kg per day and followed for at least 4 years (mean 5.2 years.

Results: The mean height SDS increased from −3.61 at baseline to −1.37 at 4 years. Main gain over 4 years was 23.55 cm. The mean weight SDS increased from −1.28 at baseline to −0.68 at 4 years. Bone age was delayed at diagnosis by a mean value of 1.17 years and after 4 years the delay decreased to 0.22 years (Table 1).

Safety profile: There were no cases of diabetes mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance or malignancies; four patients had transient increase in fasting glucose (>100 and <126 mg/dl); two patients developed hypothyroidism and were treated with levothyroxine.

Conclusions: GH treatment is associated with highly significant changes in growth. In our study height velocity was maximum (8.53 cm/year) in the 1st year of GH treament; the improvements in growth declined in the second (6.85 cm/year), 3rd year (4.11 cm/year), and 4th year (4.05 cm/year). GH therapy had a favourable safety profile. Delayed diagnosis of TS has a negative impact on growth outcomes.