Sandoz Growth Hormone

What does growth hormone do?

Human growth hormone plays a major role in growth and metabolism, and has profound effects on body composition.

Growth hormone is responsible for normal growth.
It affects the epiphyseal plates (growth plates) of the long bones resulting in a measurable increase in body length in pre-pubertal children. Children with untreated GH deficiency will fail to grow and will therefore be much shorter than their peers.

Growth hormone also has important physiological and metabolic effects in both pre-pubertal children and in adolescents and adults who have reached their final height.
Some of the other major actions of growth hormone in addition to its effect on skeletal growth are:

Muscle cell growth: growth hormone results in an increase in the number and size of muscle cells,
Carbohydrate metabolism: growth hormone is one of a number of hormones that act to keep blood glucose levels normal,
Fat metabolism: growth hormone enhances the utilization of fat.

Due to the important effects of growth hormone, patients, whose body does not produce enough growth hormone by itself, may benefit substantially from treatment with growth hormone. According to the guidelines of the AACE (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) growth hormone substitution

Promotes linear growth in pre-pubertal children,
Increases bone density,
Increases lean tissue,
Decreases adipose tissue (especially visceral),
Improves cardiac contractility,
Improves mood and motivation,
Enhances exercise capacity.

Whether or not you or your child suffer from a lack of growth hormone, needs to be established by a specialist physician, usually an endocrinologist or paediatric endocrinologist. Your doctor will explain to you in detail any benefits and potential risks of treatment taking into account your personal profile.