Slightly old news and most probably you all know this already but....
...just in case anyone read or heard about a certain article in the Times recently and was worried at all.
Don't Panic
Don’t panic, don’t panic! The way the recent Times article on growth hormone and body building was written may have scared (again) a lot of folk who know of a child on growth hormone treatment. On the one hand there is a scary statement that growth hormone is extracted from the pituitary glands of corpses. That is absolute nonsense! Growth hormone has been artificially made since the mid 80s and no one in the UK has prescribed so-called pituitary growth since then. All growth hormone on prescription is artificially made and has absolutely no risk of CJD.
The article raises the risks of acromegaly (a condition caused by an great excess of growth hormone) and diabetes and heart failure. When children are treated with growth hormone they are monitored to ensure that they do not get an excessive dose. Also checks of blood sugar levels are made prior to treatment and often on treatment in order to detect any change secondary to growth hormone. Such changes are very rare. Also we know that there is no change in heart function of children on treatment.
All these issues and others are often discussed before treatment is started so that parents can make a fully informed choice. That should not prevent you going over such matters again with the specialist doctor or nurse who will expect and wish you to do so. Growth hormone is a powerful medication and the only people who should be concerned are the foolish bodybuilders and athletes who abuse their bodies with excessive growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Dr Tony Price, retired consultant paediatric endocrinologist and TSSS Patron
x-posted to turner_syndrome
Don't Panic
Don’t panic, don’t panic! The way the recent Times article on growth hormone and body building was written may have scared (again) a lot of folk who know of a child on growth hormone treatment. On the one hand there is a scary statement that growth hormone is extracted from the pituitary glands of corpses. That is absolute nonsense! Growth hormone has been artificially made since the mid 80s and no one in the UK has prescribed so-called pituitary growth since then. All growth hormone on prescription is artificially made and has absolutely no risk of CJD.
The article raises the risks of acromegaly (a condition caused by an great excess of growth hormone) and diabetes and heart failure. When children are treated with growth hormone they are monitored to ensure that they do not get an excessive dose. Also checks of blood sugar levels are made prior to treatment and often on treatment in order to detect any change secondary to growth hormone. Such changes are very rare. Also we know that there is no change in heart function of children on treatment.
All these issues and others are often discussed before treatment is started so that parents can make a fully informed choice. That should not prevent you going over such matters again with the specialist doctor or nurse who will expect and wish you to do so. Growth hormone is a powerful medication and the only people who should be concerned are the foolish bodybuilders and athletes who abuse their bodies with excessive growth hormone and anabolic steroids.
Dr Tony Price, retired consultant paediatric endocrinologist and TSSS Patron
x-posted to turner_syndrome