Treatment with growth hormone (GH) in girls with Turner syndrome (TS) would
improve growth velocity (GV) and final height (FH) prediction. A total of
21 girls with TS treated with GH for 1 (n = 21), 2 (n = 1) and 3 years (n =
10) were studied. At the onset of GH treatment, the mean chronological age
was 11.6 +/- 2.6 years and the mean bone age was 9.7 +/- 2.4 years. The me
an height SDS was: -0.04 +/- 1.0 at the beginning, 0.4 +/- 1.0 at 1(st) yea
r, 0.9 +/- 1.1 at 2(nd) year and 1.25 +/- 0.56 at 3(rd) year of treatment (
p = 0.0001, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05 respectively). The mean GV SDS was 1.6
+/- 1.8 at the beginning, 2.5 +/- 1.7 at 1(st) year, 3.8 +/- 2.9 at 2(nd) y
ear and 2.2 +/- 2.0 at 3(rd) year (p = 0.01, p = 0.04 and p = 0.29 respecti
vely). The FH prediction by Bayley-Pinneau method was: 142.8 +/- 5.2 cm at
the beginning, 143.8 +/- 6.0 at 1(st) year, 146.0 +/- 5.9 at 2(nd) year and
145.6 +/- 6.4 at 3(rd) year (p = 0.026, p = 0.05 y p = 0.87 respectively).
The mean ending height treatment (EH), in 8 patients, was 145.1 cm +/- 6.7
. In conclusion, 1) studied patients showed systematic bone age delay at th
e beginning of GH treatment; 2) during the treatment, GV increment and impr
ovement in relative heights and in FH prediction were observed; 3) the EH,
nearest to the FH prediction, previously made at 3(rd) year of treatment, w
as 7.2 cm higher than mean FH's for Argentinean girls with TS without GH tr
eatment.