Growth Hormone Treatment and Its Effect on Height in Pediatric Patients with Different Genotypes of Prader-Willi Syndrome

Abstract

Methods: Sixty-five children with PWS who had been treated with GH for more than two years were included in this study. Twenty-one individuals were confirmed as having UPD and 44 individuals had a deletion. Height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) measurements were recorded before GH treatment and at intervals of 12 months thereafter. Results: After two years of GH therapy, no significant differences were noted for yearly improvements in height standard deviation scores (SDS) between the groups (second year SDS, 0.93 ± 0.94; deletion, 0.84 ± 1.31; UPD, P = 0.717). Body weight SDS, BMI SDS, and IGF-I SDS also showed no differences between the two groups. Conclusion: Our study showed no significant differences in yearly improvements in height SDS between the deletion and UPD groups, at least for the first two years.