GROWTH-HORMONE THERAPY IN TURNERS-SYNDROME - ONE VERSUS 2 DAILY INJECTIONS

In 44 girls with Turner's syndrome, aged 4.0-15.3 yr, the effects of b iosynthetic GH (25 U/m(2).week) given as once daily or twice daily inj ections were compared. During 1 yr of treatment, the growth rate incre ased similarly by 3.5 +/- 1.3 cm/yr in the once daily group and 2.7 +/ - 1.8 cm/yr in the twice daily group. Although pretreatment height vel ocity was negatively related to age, the increase in height velocity d uring therapy was not. The mean progression in bone age (TW2-RUS metho d) during therapy was 1.3 yr in both groups. No significant change in the median insulin secretory response to an oral glucose tolerance tes t was found. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations did not change significantly throughout the study in either treatment group. Thyroid hormone concentrations remained within normal limits. Normal i ncrements in left ventricular wall thickness and left ventricular mass for age and body surface were observed after 1 yr of GH treatment. We conclude that division of the daily GH dose given to Turner's syndrom e patients into two injections does not result in either a significant ly different growth response or different side-effects from once daily treatment during the first year of therapy.