Abstract
Progressive growth failure in patients with the pure form or mosaicism of Turner's syndrome causes short stature. Oxandrolone (Ox) has been reported as being effective in producing acceleration in height in these patients. 25 patients 10 to 17 years old were treated orally with Ox in a dosage of 0.1 mg/kg/day for 1 to 3.5 years. Growth velocity per year (mean ± SD) for all patients was 2.8 ± 1.0 cm before treatment and 5.3 ± 2.1, 3.9 ± 1.9 and 2.8 ± 1.8 cm after 1,2 and 3 years of therapy, respectively. Patients younger than 14 years exhibited the best response. Bone age remained retarded during treatment. Using the method of Bayley and Pinneau for height prediction we found that the estimated height increased from 143.2 ± 5.4 to 145.8 ± 5.9 cm for all patients after 1 year of treatment. A 3 year follow-up of 8 patients showed an increase of predicted height from 140.6 ± 5.1 cm to 146.1 ± 4.6 cm. Our data indicate that Ox has a beneficial effect (p < 0.001) on growth velocity for the first year of therapy and may cause a moderate gain in final adult height.
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Heidemann, P., Stubbe, P. & Beck, W. Oxandrolone treatment for growth promotion in Turner's syndrome. Pediatr Res 13, 1194 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00084
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00084
