ARCH DIMENSIONAL CHANGES IN CHILDREN WITH IDIOPATHIC SHORT STATURE TREATED WITH RECOMBINANT GROWTH-HORMONE - A 5-YEAR STUDY

Recombinant hu man growth hormone (rhGH) increases statu re when admin istered to non-G H-deficient idiopathic short statured children. The a ims of this investigation were to determine pretreatment arch dimensio ns of short statured children (height greater than or equal to S.D, be low mean for age) and to evaluate their response to rhGH administratio n by measuring arch-dimensional changes over 5 years of rhGH treatment . Dental casts of 28 short subjects (22 male, 6 female) and of age/gen der-matched controls of normal stature were analyzed using a digital i maging system. Four measures of arch width and one of arch depth were calculated for each maxillary and mandibular cast. Subjects receiving orthodontic care were eliminated from the study at the initiation of t reatment. Z-scores were calculated to allow for pooling of data. Prior to rhGH treatment, all arch dimensions of the short statured subjects were smaller than the controls, with the exception of mandibular arch depth. Arch dimensions of the rhGH subjects did increase with the con tinued administration of rhGH. The control group also showed a signifi cant trend for the arch dimensions to increase over time. The influenc e of rhGH treatment on arch dimensional changes over time remains equi vocal based on the results of this investigation.