Short-term tools to measure responsiveness to growth hormone replacement

Growth hormone (GH) replacement is a prolonged and expensive treatment moda lity which involves daily subcutaneous injections in children and adults. E fforts have been made, therefore, to develop short-term tests to predict lo ng-term clinical response. The so-called insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-I ) generation test was originally introduced in order to select responders t o GH among short children without classical GH deficiency. A positive corre lation between short-term increase in serum IGF-I and linear growth has, ho wever, only been reported in a minority of studies. There is no single outc ome measure available in GH-deficient adults,, and no evidence of a correla tion between IGF-I and the effects of GH replacement on factors such as bod y composition or physical fitness. In conclusion, no reliable short-term te st to predict long-term response to GH replacement is available in either c hildren or adults. For safety reasons, however, measurement of serum IGF-I concentrations in GH-deficient patients remains an important means of monit oring during GH replacement. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.