Final height in growth-hormone-treated children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency: the Malaysian experience.

479 INTRODUCTION Growth hormone has been used in the treatment of short stature since 1957 . Prior to 1985, human cadaver-derived pituitary growth hormone was used. Recombinant human growth hormone which was approved in 1985 made available a reliable, virtually unlimited resource to replace human pituitary growth hormone (which was withdrawn due to reported cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). Idiopathic growth hormone deficiency is the main indication for treatment in more than one half of children receiving growth hormone therapy . Growth hormone therapy aims to normalize growth and help these patients achieve final height within their genetic potential and the normal range for the general population. Long term studies had shown that it was possible to achieve the above objectives in patients who were optimally treated . In Malaysia, the use of growth hormone increased slowly since 1985 due to extreme high cost of treatment, lack of funding for patients and lack of public awareness until recently. Moreover, data regarding response to treatment and factors that affecting final height in our local population has not been available. This study aims to evaluate the final height outcome among the Malaysian children diagnosed with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency treated with recombinant human growth hormone.