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Long-term efficacy and safety of PEGylated recombinant human growth hormone in treating Chinese children with growth hormone deficiency: a 5-year retrospective study

  • Lele Hou ORCID logo , Shaofen Lin , Zulin Liu , Lina Zhang , Hui Ou , Siqi Huang , Huilian Dai , Zhe Meng EMAIL logo and Liyang Liang EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 23, 2024

Abstract

Objectives

The study endeavored to evaluate the prolonged efficacy and safety of PEGylated rhGH (PEG-rhGH) administration in Chinese children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) over a 5-year period.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on children with GHD, who received a 0.2 mg/kg/week dose of PEG-rhGH between 2016 and 2023 in our department.

Results

The height standard deviation score (Ht SDS) exhibited a marked elevation post-PEG-rhGH administration (p<0.001), sustaining this enhancement beyond year 3, with increments recorded at 0.94±0.37, 1.49±0.48, 1.77±0.51, 2.12±0.65, and 2.15±0.58 across 5 years. Similarly, the height velocity (HV), insulin-like growth factor-1 standard deviation score (IGF-1 SDS), and bone age to chronological age ratio (BA/CA ratio) underwent significant augmentations (p<0.01). Remarkably, no signs of rapid bone maturation were detected during the 5-year observation. Among the participants, 31 patients (59.62 %) experienced adverse events, of which eight instances (15.38 %) were classified as treatment-related adverse events, but none were severe or unexpected. Additionally, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels rose while low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels fell, both remaining within the standard range throughout the treatment phase.

Conclusions

Administering PEG-rhGH at a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg/week proved both effective and well-tolerated in treating prepubertal children with GHD. This regimen also demonstrated positive impacts on lipid metabolism over an extended treatment period.


Corresponding authors: Zhe Meng and Liyang Liang, Children’s Medical Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China, E-mail: (Z. Meng), (L. Liang)
Lele Hou and Shaofen Lin should be considered joint first author.
  1. Research ethics: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (SYSKY-2023-1083-01).

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  5. Research funding: None declared.

  6. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2024-0189).


Received: 2024-04-19
Accepted: 2024-08-09
Published Online: 2024-08-23
Published in Print: 2024-10-28

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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