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Among the issues presented in patients with Turner syndrome, short stature is one of the most prominent, and investigators from Korea investigated the effects of a new recombinant growth hormone among this population.
A comparison of Growtropin (DA-3002, Dong-A ST. Co, Ltd), a new liquid recombinant human growth hormone (GH), and Genotropin (Pfizer) shows the former has comparable efficacy and safety to the latter among Korean children with Turner syndrome, reports BMC Endocrine Disorders.
Turner syndrome, caused by a missing or partially missing X chromosome, only affects female children. Problems that present with the condition include short stature, ovary nondevelopment, and heart defects.
“Short stature is the most consistent characteristic feature of Turner syndrome,” wrote the study authors. “To improve final heights of children with TS effectively, it is important to provide them with early and appropriate treatment using GH.”
Among the patients randomized almost 1:1 to the treatment group receiving DA-3002 (n = 28; mean [SD] age, 6.84 [2.62] years) or the Genotropin group (n = 30; mean age, 7.06 [2.96] years), both groups had younger bone age than their chronological age, at 6.03 (2.93) and 5.96 (2.63) years, respectively. Height, weight, and body mass index, as well as thyroid stimulating hormone, free thyroxine, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and 3 insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels were similar.
This year-long open-label, multicenter, randomized controlled trial included Korean girls with Turner syndrome, aged 2 to 12 years, whose height was among the 10th percentile or less of same-aged Korean individuals before the study. Prior treatment with GH excluded study participation. Eleven hospitals were covered in the study, which took place from February 2013 to May 2018. Overall close to three-fourths of the study participants had mosaicism.
The investigation produced the following results:
In addition to the noted height benefits, the authors highlighted that lipid profiles improve and arterial hypertension prevalence drops following GH treatment. This finding holds particular importance because there is a higher risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and congenital CV malformation among women with Turner syndrome, the authors noted.
“This clinical study demonstrated an excellent growth promoting effect of DA-3002 in children with short stature due to TS and confirmed its safety,” the authors concluded. “DA-3002 is another effective option for patients with TS considering GH treatment without any safety concern.”
Still, they recommend a long-term study to validate their findings.
Reference
Kim J, Kim M-S, Suh B-K, et al. Recombinant growth hormone therapy in children with Turner Syndrome in Korea: a phase III Randomized Trial. BMC Endocr Disord. Published online December 10, 2021. doi:10.1186/s12902-021-00904-5
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