SULPHATION FACTOR ACTIVITY AND GROWTH RATE DURING LONG-TERM TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH PITUITARY DWARFISM WITH HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE

ABSTRACT Twenty patients with pituitary dwarfism were treated for nine months to 2½ years with human growth hormone (HGH) prepared according to Roos et al. (1963). Eleven of them had previously been given other HGH preparations for one to five years. During the first two years of treatment with HGH in a dose of 0.2 mg (0.4 IU) and 0.3 mg (0.6 IU) per kg body weight per week, the increase in growth rate was two- to threefold, and three- to fivefold, respectively. Long-termed treatment with HGH was accompanied by a decreasing ability of the hormone to stimulate growth. Cortisone acetate, in replacement doses, had no influence on this growth rate. During the present study only one of the 20 patients developed antibodies to HGH. The levels of sulphation factor (SF) activity in serum were low before treatment and increased significantly during treatment with HGH. There was a linear relationship between the SF activity in the serum and the slope of the growth carves. Both increased with the dose of HGH administered but decreased with duration of treatment.