ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Growth hormone (hGH) and/or growth factors are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. Increased treatment of human growth hormone (hGH) in children rise questions concerning the safety of GH replacement therapy on ophtalmic changes. Adverse effects of hGH treatment (pseudotumor cerebri, papilloedema, retinal changes mimicking diabetic retinopathy, neovascularization) have been reported in some papers. In this study, it was aimed to examine whether there is any change in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in long term during growth hormone treatment.

Material and Methods: 10 patients with congenital idiopathic pituitary insufficiency (mean age, 13.1 year) were studied. Patients who had any disease or drug use that would affect the retinal nerve fiber layer, with any refractive error or additional ophthalmological problem were not included in the study. All patients underwent ophthalmic examination by same ophtalmologist at the beginning of the growth hormone treatmnet and after 6 month. Retinal nerve fiber layer of patients receiving treatment was evaluated by spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

Results: There was no change in the initial visual acuity, refraction, tension ocular measurements, anterior segment and fundus findings. The thickness values of 8 sectors in RNFL analyzes were recorded. There was no significant difference between the RNLF thicknesses of the right eye and left eye for 8 sectors before and after treatment.

Conclusions: It was found that recombinant growth hormone therapy did not cause a change in the retinal nerve fiber layer in children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. There was no adverse effect on the RNFL.