Growth Hormone Therapy

Somatropin is recombinant human growth hormone. It replaces deficient endogenous growth hormone in children and adults with confirmed growth hormone deficiency (GHD). It is also prescribed for selected pediatric conditions associated with impaired growth, including Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, children born small for gestational age who have not achieved catch-up growth, and idiopathic short stature. Short stature alone is not a diagnosis of GHD. A child may be short because of familial stature, constitutional delay, chronic disease, nutritional problems, endocrine disorders, or a genetic condition. The clinician looks for a pattern: poor linear growth over time, a compatible history, and testing that supports impaired growth hormone secretion. Somatropin cannot increase height after the epiphyses have closed. Children with closed epiphyses must not receive it for linear growth.