| Summary: | Inadequate production of growth hormone (GH) results in short stature, defined as a height for a given age that is two or more standard deviations below normal. Children with short stature may have classic GH deficiency or an underproduction or insensitivity to normal levels of GH caused by pathologies such as Turner's syndrome or renal insufficiency. Idiopathic short stature (ISS) results when children are short, compared to others in their age cohort, for unknown or hereditary reasons. There are an estimated one million children with ISS and 24,000 with medically defined short stature in the United States. Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was first produced in 1985 and is now available in potentially unlimited amounts. This report evaluates the use of rhGH for children with ISS.
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