Ebook: Challenges in Growth Hormone Therapy

The area of growth hormone therapy has been shrouded in controversy for several years. In the US, anxious parents apply pressure on doctors so their little ones can receive this elixir, regardless of whether there is a medical condition to treat. More recently, health care organisations have balked at the very high cost of growth hormone therapy, and with a greater consciousness of evidence-based medicine, there is also growing concerns about its efficacy. There are now fears about the safety of long-term growth hormone administration with possible risks of increased cardiovascular disease and diabetes, although the latter seems to be a temporary phenomenon. At the clinical level there are also uncertainties about proper optimum dosing schedules used for both children and adults, as well as how to manage the transition from childhood to adulthood (when to stop giving the hormone and how to follow up). Challenges in Growth Hormone Therapy tackles these issues and provides a timely and controversial review of these topics for endocrinologists and paediatricians.