Inclusion and Withdrawal Criteria for Growth Hormone (GH) Therapy in Children with Idiopathic GH Deficiency—Towards Following the Evidence but Still with Unresolved Problems

According to current guidelines, growth hormone (GH) therapy is strongly recommended in children and adolescents with GH deficiency (GHD) in order to accelerate growth rate and attain normal adult height. The diagnosis of GHD requires demonstration of decreased GH secretion in stimulation tests, below the established threshold value. Currently, GHD in children is classified as secondary insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) deficiency. Most of children diagnosed with isolated GHD presents with normal GH secretion at the attainment of near-final height or even in mid-puberty. The most important clinical problems, related to the diagnosis of isolated GHD in children and to optimal duration of rhGH therapy include: arbitrary definition of subnormal GH peak in stimulation tests, disregarding factors influencing GH secretion, insufficient diagnostic accuracy and poor reproducibility of GH stimulation tests, discrepancies between spontaneous and stimulated GH secretion, clinical entity of neurosecretory dysfunction, discrepancies between IGF-1 concentrations and results of GH stimulation tests, significance of IGF-1 deficiency for the diagnosis of GHD, a need for validation IGF-1 reference ranges. Many of these issues have remained unresolved for 25 years or even longer. It seems that finding solutions to them should optimize diagnostics and therapy of children with short stature.

Effective GH replacement with once-weekly somapacitan vs daily GH in children with GHD: 3-year results from REAL 3

Context Current GH therapy requires daily injections, which can be burdensome. Somapacitan is a long-acting GH derivative in development for treatment of GH deficiency (GHD). Objective Evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of once-weekly somapacitan after 3 years of treatment. Design A multicenter, randomized, controlled, phase 2 study comparing somapacitan and once-daily GH for 156 weeks (NCT02616562). Setting Twenty-nine sites in 11 countries. Patients Fifty-nine children with GHD randomized (1:1:1:1) and exposed to treatment. Fifty-three children completed the 3-year period. Interventions Patients received somapacitan (0.04 [n=14], 0.08 [n=15] or 0.16 [n=14] mg/kg/week) or daily GH (n=14) (0.034 mg/kg/day, equivalent to 0.238 mg/kg/week) subcutaneously during the first year, after which all patients on somapacitan received 0.16 mg/kg/week. Main Outcome Measures Height velocity (HV) at year 3; changes from baseline in height standard deviation score (HSDS), HVSDS and IGF-I SDS. Results The estimated treatment difference (95% CI) in HV for somapacitan 0.16/0.16 mg/kg/week versus daily GH at year 3 was 0.8 cm/year (−0.4; 2.1). Change in HVSDS from baseline to year 3 was comparable between somapacitan 0.16/0.16 mg/kg/week, the pooled somapacitan groups, and daily GH. A gradual increase in HSDS from baseline was observed for all groups. At year 3, mean HSDS was similar for the pooled somapacitan groups and daily GH. Change from baseline to year 3 in mean IGF-I SDS was similar across treatments. Conclusions Once-weekly somapacitan in children with GHD showed sustained efficacy over 3 years in all assessed height-based outcomes with similar safety and tolerability to daily GH.

Safety of Pediatric rhGH Therapy: An Overview and the Need for Long-Term Surveillance

Growth hormone (GH) therapy dates back to 1958 and, though has shown an excellent safety profile in the short-term, has never ceased to raise concern about potential long-term side effects. In the last decade, a number of observational studies in different cohorts of young adult patients treated with GH during childhood have yielded conflicting results. The attention has mainly focused on three major potential risks associated with GH therapy: cancer, cardio and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes. This review intends to provide a detailed overview of the main studies reporting long-term safety in subjects treated with rhGH therapy during childhood, highlighting the evidence for or against the risk of cancer, cardio and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes.

Growth Hormone Deficiency and Treatment in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Growth hormone (GH) deficiency is a common pituitary hormone deficiency in childhood cancer survivors (CCS). The identification, diagnosis, and treatment of those individuals at risk are important in order to minimize associated morbidities that can be ameliorated by treatment with recombinant human GH therapy. However, GH and insulin-like growth factor-I have been implicated in tumorigenesis, so there has been concern over the use of GH therapy in patients with a history of malignancy. Reassuringly, GH therapy has not been shown to increase risk of tumor recurrence. These patients have an increased risk for development of meningiomas, but this may be related to their history of cranial irradiation rather than to GH therapy. In this review, we detail the CCS who are at risk for GHD and the existing evidence on the safety profile of GH therapy in this patient population.

Real-World Treatment Patterns and Outcomes of Growth Hormone Treatment Among Children in Israel Over the Past Decade (2004–2015)

Objective: To assess a decade of growth hormone (GH) treatment patterns and outcomes in a real-world setting in Israel using a state-of-the-art computerized database.Methods: This large retrospective database study included 2,379 children initiating GH treatment in Maccabi Healthcare Services (between January 2004 and December 2014). Good adherence with therapy (proportion of days covered >80%) was assessed during follow-up.Results: At GH treatment initiation: 62.1% were boys; height standard deviation score (SDS) was −2.36 ± 0.65 (mean ± SD); age was 9.8 ± 3.1 years; and time from short stature diagnosis to first GH purchase was 4.8 ± 3.3 years. Mean treatment period was 3.5 ± 0.95 years; 79.4% of children were treated for more than 3 years. The two main indications for GH therapy were idiopathic short stature (ISS) (n = 1,615, 67.9%) and GH deficiency (GHD) (n = 611, 25.7%). Children in the highest socio-economic-status (SES) tertile comprised 61.3% of ISS and 59.7% of GHD. After 3 years, mean height gain SDS was 1.09 ± 0.91 for GHD and 0.96 ± 0.57 for ISS (p = 0.0004). Adult height (age 15 for girls and 17 for boys) was recorded for 624 patients (26.2%) with better outcomes for GHD than ISS (−1.0±0.82 vs. −1.28±0.93, respectively; p = 0.0002). Good adherence was achieved in 78.2% of the cohort during the first year and declined thereafter to 68.1% during the third year of the treatment.Conclusions: Children who initiate GH therapy are predominantly male, belong mainly to the upper SES, commence treatment a long period after initial recognition of short stature, and have suboptimal adherence. Appropriate referral, diagnosis, and follow-up care may result in better treatment outcomes with GH therapy.

Growth response to growth hormone (GH) treatment in children with GH deficiency (GHD) and those with idiopathic short stature (ISS) based on their pretreatment insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGFI) levels and at diagnosis and IGFI increment on treatment

Objectives Some idiopathic short stature (ISS) patients may have varying degrees of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGFI) deficiency. Others with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) (peak GH < 7 ng/dL after provocation) have normal IGFI levels. Do children with ISS or those with GHD with variable pretreatment IGFI standard deviation score (IGFISDS) have different IGFI and growth responses to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy? Methods We studied the effect of GH therapy (0.035–0.06 mg/kg/day) on linear growth and weight gain per day (WGPD) in children with ISS (n=13) and those with GHD (n=10) who have low pretreatment IGFISDS (IGF SDS < −1.5) and compared them with age-matched prepubertal children with ISS (n=10) and GHD (n=17) who had normal pretreatment IGFISDS. An untreated group of children with ISS (n=12) served as a control group. Results At presentation, the height standard deviation score (HtSDS) of children with ISS who had low pretreatment IGFISDS was significantly lower compared to the normal IGFI group. The age, body mass index (BMI), BMISDS, peak GH response to clonidine provocation and bone age did not differ between the two study groups. After 1 year of treatment with rhGH (0.035–0.06 mg/kg/day) IGFISDS increased significantly in both groups (p<0.05). Both had significantly increased HtSDS (catch-up growth). The increase in the HtSDS and WGPD were significantly greater in the lower pretreatment IGFISDS group. The IGFSDS, BMISDS, HtSDS and difference between HtSDS and mid-parental HtSDS were significantly greater in the rhGH treated groups vs. the not treated group. In the GHD groups (normal and low IGFISDS), after 1 year of GH therapy (0.03–0.05 mg/kg/day), the HtSDS increased significantly in both, (p<0.01). The WGPD and increment in BMI were significantly greater in children who had low pretreatment IGFISDS. There was a significant increase in the IGFSDS in the two treated groups (p<0.05), however, the WGPD was greater in the pretreatment low IGFISDS. Conclusions IGFI deficiency represents a low anabolic state. Correction of IGFI level (through rhGH and/or improved nutrition) in short children (ISS and GHD) was associated with increased linear growth and WGPD denoting significant effect on bone growth and muscle protein accretion.

Growth Hormone (GH) Treatment Decreases Plasma Kisspeptin Levels in GH-Deficient Adults with Prader–Willi Syndrome

Obesity and growth hormone (GH)-deficiency are consistent features of Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS). Centrally, kisspeptin is involved in regulating reproductive function and can stimulate hypothalamic hormones such as GH. Peripherally, kisspeptin signaling influences energy and metabolic status. We evaluated the effect of 12-month GH treatment on plasma kisspeptin levels in 27 GH-deficient adult PWS patients and analyzed its relationship with metabolic and anthropometric changes. Twenty-seven matched obese subjects and 22 healthy subjects were also studied. Before treatment, plasma kisspeptin concentrations in PWS and obese subjects were similar (140.20 (23.5–156.8) pg/mL vs. 141.96 (113.9–165.6) pg/mL, respectively, p = 0.979)) and higher (p = 0.019) than in healthy subjects (124.58 (107.3–139.0) pg/mL); plasma leptin concentrations were similar in PWS and obese subjects (48.15 (28.80–67.10) ng/mL vs. 33.10 (20.50–67.30) ng/mL, respectively, p = 0.152) and higher (p < 0.001) than in healthy subjects (14.80 (11.37–67.30) ng/mL). After GH therapy, lean body mass increased 2.1% (p = 0.03), total fat mass decreased 1.6% (p = 0.005), and plasma kisspeptin decreased to levels observed in normal-weight subjects (125.1(106.2–153.4) pg/mL, p = 0.027). BMI and leptin levels remained unchanged. In conclusion, 12-month GH therapy improved body composition and decreased plasma kisspeptin in GH deficient adults with PWS. All data are expressed in median (interquartile range).

Adult Height in 299 Patients with Turner Syndrome with or without Growth Hormone Therapy: Results and Literature Review

<b><i>Context:</i></b> Treatment with growth hormone (GH) is considered effective in improving adult height (AH) in Turner syndrome (TS). However, there are few studies comparing AH between treated patients and a concurrent untreated group. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To assess the efficacy of GH treatment in improving AH in TS and to review previous published studies with treated and untreated groups. <b><i>Participants and Methods:</i></b> We retrospectively analyzed clinical data and AH of a large cohort of GH-treated (<i>n</i> = 168) and untreated (<i>n</i> = 131) patients with TS. Data are shown as median and interquartile range (IQR). We assessed pretreatment variables related with AH and compared our results with 16 studies that also included an untreated group. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The GH-treated group was 6.2 cm taller than the untreated group (AH = 149 cm [IQR 144.5–152.5 cm] vs. 142.8 cm [IQR 139–148 cm], <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) after 4.9 years of GH treatment with a dose of 0.35 mg/kg/week. AH SDS corrected for target height (TH) was 7.2 cm higher in GH-treated patients. AH SDS ≥−2 was more frequent in GH-treated patients (43%) than in untreated patients (16%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). AH SDS was also more frequently within the TH range in the GH-treated group (52%) than in the untreated group (15%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Height SDS at start of GH therapy and TH SDS were positively correlated with AH (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001; <i>R</i>² = 0.375). Considering the current result together with previous similar publications, a mean AH gain of 5.7 cm was observed in GH-treated (<i>n</i> = 696) versus untreated (<i>n</i> = 633) patients. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our study strengthens the evidence for efficacy of GH therapy in patients with TS from different populations.

Using Deep Learning for Individual-Level Predictions of Adherence with Growth Hormone Therapy

The problem of consistent therapy adherence is a current challenge for health informatics, and its solution can increase the success rate of treatments. Here we show a methodology to predict, at individual-level, future therapy adherence for patients receiving daily injections of growth hormone (GH) therapy for GH deficiency. Our proposed model is able to generate predictions of future adherence using a recurrent neural network with adherence data recorded by easypodTM, a connected autoinjection device. The model was trained with a multi-year long dataset with 2500 patients, from January 2007 to June 2019. When testing, the model reached an average sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.88 per patient when predicting non-adherence (<85%) periods. When evaluated with thousands of therapy segments extracted from a test set, our model reached an AUC-PR score of 0.79 and AUC-ROC of 0.90; both metrics were consistently better than traditional approaches, such as simple average model. Using this model, we can perform precise early identification of patients who are likely to become non-adherent patients. This opens a path for healthcare practitioners to personalize GH therapy at any stage of the patients’ journey and improve shared decision making with patients and caregivers to achieve optimal outcomes.

A Pediatric Patient With Noonan Syndrome and Late Onset Unilateral Lymphedema

Introduction: Noonan syndrome is a common autosomal dominant disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 1000-2500 births. The lymphatic disorders in Noonan syndrome are rare and usually bilateral. We present a 14-year-old male with Noonan syndrome and late-onset unilateral lower extremity lymphedema. Case presentation: A 14-year-old male with Noonan syndrome due to a pathogenic mutation in the RIT1 gene (c.265T&gt;C p.Tyro89His) presented to emergency room due to progressive swelling of the right lower extremity. No history of recent trauma or injury. He had a history of small mid-muscular ventricular septal defect (VSD), chylothorax with right-sided pleural effusions during infancy, sensorineural hearing loss with bilateral hearing aids, and undescended testes status post-surgery. He had been on growth hormone (GH) therapy since age 12 years with good adherence and no reported side effects. In the emergency room, initial laboratory evaluation and Doppler ultrasound ruled out deep venous thrombosis. Physical exam was remarkable for edema of the right lower extremity, warm to touch, with erythema, not painful. Due to initial concerns for cellulitis, the patient was treated with antibiotics. Erythema improved but not the edema. Cardiac evaluation including echocardiogram with stable, unchanged VSD was unremarkable. Patient underwent additional workup notable for an albumin level of 4.4g/dl (3.4-5.0), Immunoglobulin (Ig) A 53 mg/dl (66-436), IgG 788 mg/dl (791-1643), IgM 82 mg/dl (43-279) and a stool alpha antitrypsin level of 0.65 mg/g (0.0-0.5) ruling out protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). Growth hormone was held initially and restarted after 2 months due to clinical improvement, but just for one week due to worsening swelling. Lymphoscintigraphy of lower extremities showed an asymmetry between the right and left leg in the transit, suggesting a mild lymphatic abnormality in the right leg. There was a significant improvement in terms of his lymphedema with physical therapy and compressive stocking after 6 months. He has been off growth hormone therapy since then. Discussion: Patients with Noonan syndrome may develop lymphedema and PLE, although findings are usually bilateral. Interestingly our patient has unilateral lymphedema that has been improving with compression stocks and physical therapy. Our patient was on GH therapy for 2 years before he developed lymphedema and although growth hormone causes water retention, we would not expect a selective involvement as in our patient. Based on his history of chylothorax we decided to perform a Lymphoscintigraphy that confirmed an abnormality in the lymphatic system of the right lower extremity. The effect of GH once restarting pointed it was a precipitating factor instead of the cause. Late-onset lymphedema is an uncommon presentation but should be a diagnosis that we have to keep in mind when patients with Noonan syndrome are presenting with edema.