In today’s image-conscious society, researchers have concluded that people are often treated differently based on their height. Specifically, children that are short in stature have reported that they are constantly teased, whereas taller individuals have reported that they are well respected among their peers.
To help boost their confidence, numerous vertically challenged children are undergoing growth-hormone treatment to increase their height. There is a steady increase of children being prescribed the main drug in this treatment, as the number of prescriptions of this drug has increased from 19,000 to 23,000, from the years 2007 to 2011.
The children undergoing this treatment are referred to as idiopathic short stature patients (ISS). ISS patients are deemed as being the shortest 2% of the population. Males are projected to reach an adult height of 5’3 and females a height of 4’10. These short heights have no correlation to deficiencies such as low growth hormone levels, or diseases such as turner syndrome that are related to below average height. In Canada, growth hormone treatment is only available for medical reasons and not cosmetic. Therefore, parents cannot simply ask for this treatment just because they want there child to be a few inches taller. The doctor must deem their child as being a suitable candidate.
For ISS patients to undergo the growth hormone therapy, the synthetic lab made growth hormone Humatrope, which was approved by Health Canada in 2006, must be used.
The side effects of Humatrope are very low. The most common side effects are: headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, high blood sugar, and hypothyroidism. In my view, the benefits of the drug out way the common side effects.
The video below from King5 news provides a child, parent, and a doctors view on benefits of growth hormone therapy and describes how the benefits out way the risks.
So exactly how does Humatrope work?
When Humatrope is injected it acts like normal growth hormone in the body. Growth hormone is hormone secreted by the pituitary gland and then quickly converted in the liver into Growth Factor- Type 1 or simply IGF-1. IGF1 is what causes the height growth in children. The height increase in children is attributed to the fact that IGF-1 stimulates bone growth and cell reproduction.
Effects of Growth Hormone- IGF-1 increases bone size. / Source: Vanderbilt University
Overall, I believe that growth hormone therapy using Humatrope is a great way to help short children grow. Someone who I knew from high school had a wheat allergy and was very short in stature. He was often picked on for being short. He decided to undergo this treatment and within a year he had grown to the height of many of the other students without any side effects. Ultimately, I believe this treatment will help many kids that suffer negatively from their short stature as my friend did, and will help give them an extra boost in their confidence.
Mandip Parmar
