Abstract
Early prediction of response to growth-promotion treatments in children is needed so that ineffective treatment may be discontinued at an early stage. We have evaluated a number of biochemical markers for their ability to predict growth response in 33 short, healthy, prepubertal children. Treatments (for which ethical approval was given) were as follows: placebo growth hormone (4 children), growth hormone alone (18), oxindralone alone (4), growth hormone and oxandralone combined (7). We measured total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone ALP (by leetin affinity electrophoresis), procollagen type I propeptide (PICP) and procollagen type III propeptide (PIIIP, both by radioimmunoassay) at entry to the study, and after 3 months of treatment. Height velocity was recorded at entry to the study and after one year. In the placebo group, there was little change in any of the markers after 3 months, nor in height velocity after one year (p >0.1, paired t-test). In each of the other treatment groups, significant increases in all four markers occurred at 3 months, and in height velocity at one year (p <(0.05, paired t-test). For all treatment groups combined, the increment in each biochemical marker at 3 months was significantly correlated (p <0.01) with the increment in height velocity found after one year, the best overall predictor of response was bone ALP (r= 0.70). Within the group treated with growth hormone alone, PIIIP was the best predictor of growth response (r= 0.52, p <0.05); pretreatment height velocity was of little value (r=−0.29, p >0.05). We conclude that biochemical markers of growth can successfully predict response to growth promoting treatments in children.
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Crofton, P., Schönau, E., Stirling, H. et al. CAN BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS PREDICT RESPONSE TO GROWTH-PROMOTING TREATMENTS IN SHORT NORMAL CHILDREN?. Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S35 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00194
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00194
