Effects of high-dose recombinant human growth hormone treatment on IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in idiopathic dwarfism patients

Objective: To investigate the effects of high-dose recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH) treatment on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels in patients with idiopathic dwarfism.

Methods: This study retrospectively investigated records of idiopathic dwarfism patients treated at Anhui Children’s Hospital or the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between May 2019 and October 2020. The study identified 76 patients, which were divided based on rhGH treatment dosage into high- and low-dose groups.

Results: The high-dose group showed a total efficacy of 95.3%, which was significantly higher than the 79.41% observed in the low-dose group (P<0.05). Moreover, height, weight, IGF-1 levels, and IGFBP-3 levels were all significantly elevated in the high-dose group compared to the low-dose group (P<0.05). No significant difference in adverse reaction incidence was observed between high- (9.5%) and low-dose (8.8%) groups (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Higher doses of rhGH can provide improved curative effects in patients with idiopathic short stature, likely via elevated levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3.