Human Growth Hormone

Abstract

Introduction Although there are numerous brief reports concerning the metabolic effectiveness of human growth hormone,^1-8the full details of a metabolic balance study in a young child have not been published. It is the purpose of this paper to report detailed results of a metabolic balance study carried out on a 3 10/12-year-old "hypopituitary" boy. To define what is meant by "hypopituitary" a case report describing the subject is included. The human growth hormone employed was obtained from Dr. Maurice Raben⁹and was administered intramuscularly in a dosage of 5 mg. per day. Report of Case The patient was a 310/12-year-old Japanese boy, referred because of gradual deceleration in linear growth.* At birth, his weight was 3,200 gm. and his length was 47 cm. The pregnancy was uncomplicated, but the delivery was notable in that a precipitous delivery was necessitated by a prolapse of the umbilical cord. There