Acceleration of Growth in Two Children Treated with Human Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor

Abstract

Two growth hormone–deficient children were treated with growth hormone–releasing factor for six months. The pattern of administration — 1 to 3 μg per kilogram of body weight, given subcutaneously over one minute every three hours by infusion pump — was chosen to simulate growth hormone secretion in normal children. During the first week of therapy, both children had evidence of the metabolic effects of increased growth hormone secretion — i.e., nitrogen retention, demonstrated by decreased nitrogen excretion (P<0.05), and increased urinary calcium excretion (P<0.01).