GH therapy can increase short-term growth and improve ( near ) final height .
Increases in height are such that treated individuals remain relatively short when compared with peers of normal stature .
BACKGROUND Idiopathic short stature ( ISS ) refers to children who are very short compared with their peers for unknown or hereditary reasons .
Recombinant human growth hormone ( GH ) has been used to increase growth and final height in children with ISS .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of recombinant human GH on short-term growth and final height in children with ISS .
Psychological adaptation in children with idiopathic short stature treated with growth hormone or placebo.
The influence of short stature on psychological adaptation in childhood and adolescence is controversial . GH is currently used to treat children with idiopathic short stature ( ISS , also known as non-GH-deficient short stature ) . This study represents the first double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of the effects of GH on the psychological adaptation of children and adolescents with ISS , treated with GH until adult height was attained . Sixty-eight children ( 53 males , 15 females ) , 9 - 16 yr old , with marked ISS ( measured height or predicted adult height -2.5 sd or less ) received either GH 0.074 mg/kg or placebo sc three times per week until height velocity decreased to less than 1.5 cm/yr . Parents completed the  Child Behavior Checklist ( CBCL ) and children the Self-Perception Profile ( SPP ) and Silhouette Apperception Technique at baseline and annually thereafter . Baseline behavioral/emotional adjustment ( CBCL ) and self-concept ( SPP ) scores for children with ISS were within the normative range . The two study groups exhibited similar behavioral and self-concept profiles ( CBCL ) during the first 2 yr of the study . However , CBCL behavior problems ( internalizing , externalizing , and total problems ) appeared to decline , in yr 3 and 4 , in the GH-treated group relative to the placebo-treated group . Group differences in CBCL competency domains and the SPP were not observed at any point during the study . Short stature among children with ISS enrolled in this long-term , placebo-controlled study was not associated with problems in psychological adaptation or self-concept with the psychological instruments employed . GH treatment was associated with a trend toward improvement in problem behaviors , as measured by question naires ( CBCL ) completed by study participants ' parents . It remains to be determined whether GH treatment significantly impacts adaptation , psychosocial function , or quality of life in children with ISS
GH therapy can increase short-term growth and improve ( near ) final height .
Increases in height are such that treated individuals remain relatively short when compared with peers of normal stature .
BACKGROUND Idiopathic short stature ( ISS ) refers to children who are very short compared with their peers for unknown or hereditary reasons .
Recombinant human growth hormone ( GH ) has been used to increase growth and final height in children with ISS .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of recombinant human GH on short-term growth and final height in children with ISS .