Growth hormone treatment in children with rheumatic disease, corticosteroid induced growth retardation, and osteopenia.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

To study the effect of hGH on growth, bone mineral density (BMD), and body composition, taking the disease activity and CS use into account.

Why It Was Studied

In children with severe rheumatic disease (RD), treatment with corticosteroids (CS) is frequently needed and growth retardation and osteopenia may develop.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 17 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as young children, children and teenagers, both men and women.

The controls (n = 7) received no GH treatment.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Anthropometry, Body Composition, Bone Density, Bone Diseases, Metabolic, Glucocorticoids, Growth Disorders and Human Growth Hormone.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) in 17 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2006 (Archives of disease in childhood), a journal based in England.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page, all human trials.