However, a major problem is to develop a safe and effective way to deliver the new gene to the correct place where it can do its work. Many researchers have used viruses as a way to carry the gene to the required site, but this is not without risk. The group at the Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital has been developing a different approach using tissue culture cells and two of their systems look extremely promising. The research project will take two years and cost 75,000 Use of Growth Hormone in Children's Liver Disease Children with chronic liver disease often do not grow as well as normal children. They can be shorter, thinner and have smaller muscles and in some children their growth is so poor that they need a liver transplant.
Growth hormone occurs naturally within the body and is necessary for normal growth.
It also plays an important role in maintaining muscle bulk, the strength of bones and normal circulation of blood. Children with liver disease have normal growth hormone levels in their blood but they do not produce IGF-I, suggesting that there may be a block in the liver. This research project is designed to find out whether giving extra growth hormone will help the liver overcome this block, and help the children to grow. The project will take place at King's College Hospital. Tests will be carried out in five groups of ten children, each with different types of liver disease.