Norditropin® products
About GHD
Some questions you
might have
Glossary
Prescribing Information
Instructions for Use
Important Safety Information
    

Glossary

Bones

The hard parts inside our bodies that hold the body up and let us move around. The bones of our bodies make up our skeletons. When our bones grow, especially the ones in our legs and spine, we get taller.

Catch-up growth

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) causes growth that is slower than usual. When GHD is treated with human growth hormone (hGH) therapy, the body starts to grow faster and there is "catch-up" growth. In other words, the body's growth tries to catch up to try to reach the limit of what is considered normal for that age. The age at which a person starts growth hormone therapy is very important, because the potential for catch-up growth may decrease as the child or teenager becomes older. The goal of treatment is to have catch-up growth allow the child or teenager reach their full potential adult height—the height the child would have reached if he or she did not have GHD.

Deficiency

Having too little of something, usually something important. Children or teens who have a deficiency of human growth hormone (hGH) might not grow as fast and strong as children or teens who do not have a growth hormone deficiency (GHD).

Full growth potential

Everyone has a different full growth potential, the maximum (greatest) height a person can grow. A person's full growth potential depends on many things, including the height of your mother, father, and other family members.

Glands

Special parts in our bodies that make hormones. These hormones act like chemical messengers taking messages from one part of our body to another. The pituitary (pi-TOO-i-tair-ee) gland sends growth hormone to the bones. This makes us grow. There are many other types of glands and other types of hormones in our bodies too.

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD)

GHD means a person's body doesn't make enough growth hormone by itself. It is one of the main causes of poor growth in children. GHD may be present at birth or at any time during infancy or childhood. It is usually the result of the pituitary gland failing to produce enough growth hormone. Fortunately, growth hormone treatment does exist in the form of a commercially produced, biosynthetic hormone replacement therapy, such as Norditropin®. Biosynthetic growth hormone treatment is 100% identical to the natural growth hormone made by the body and has been safely manufactured using biotechnical methods since 1986.

Growth hormone therapy

Daily injections of growth hormone that can help people who have growth hormone deficiency (GHD) grow faster and reach their full growth potential.

Human growth hormone (hGH)

A hormone is a special chemical made by our glands that can carry messages from one part of our bodies to another. Our bodies have many different types of hormones. hGH is the growth hormone made by the pituitary gland. It is a special chemical messenger that the pituitary gland sends to the bones when the brain tells it to. When growth hormone gets to the bones, it causes us to grow.

Hypopituitarism

Hypopituitarism (pronounced high-po-pi-TOO-i-tar-ism) is when the pituitary does not make enough of several different types of hormones, not just growth hormone. Some of these other hormones include thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Children who have hypopituitarism are usually normal in size at birth and have relatively normal growth when they are infants. But then, during childhood, growth slows down a lot.

Injection

This is the same as a shot. Children who have growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and are on growth hormone therapy take daily injections of growth hormone just underneath their skin on their thigh.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)

Another growth-promoting hormone. Growth hormone and IGF act as a team to signal the body to grow.

Pituitary

A very small and very important gland in our bodies. About the size of a pea, it is just below the brain and just behind the top of the nose. When the brain tells it to, the pituitary gland sends growth hormone to our bones and causes us to grow.

Stimulation Test (Stim Test)

Stim Test is an abbreviation for "Stimulation" Test, a test to help diagnose growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Stim testing is important because the levels of growth hormone in a person's blood change. Most of the time, the level of growth hormone is so low it is hard to measure, even in people who do not have GHD. There are several types of Stim Tests—some are able to measure the level of growth hormone when it is at the highest level. This type of testing involves physical exercise like running, or testing while sleeping, because both exercise and sleep cause an increase in growth hormone. Other tests use oral or injected medications to "trick" the pituitary into producing the maximum amount of growth hormone it can. Most children, teens, or adults who do not have GHD will have a growth hormone level over 10. Then, after 30 to 60 minutes the growth hormone level drops back down to a low level. Children or teens with GHD may not show any rise in growth hormone level or just a low increase during the Stim Test.


Norditropin® Indications and Usage

Norditropin® (somatropin [rDNA origin] injection) is used to treat children with growth failure caused by very low or no production of growth hormone. It is also used to treat children who have short stature associated with Noonan syndrome and Turner syndrome, for treatment of children with short stature born small for gestational age with no catch-up growth by age 2-4 years, and to treat adults who do not make enough growth hormone.

Important Safety Information

Remember, your doctor is the main source of information about you and your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health or your medication.

Do not use Norditropin® if you have any of the following conditions: an allergy to phenol or any other ingredients in the medicine; active cancer or other forms of tumor; severe diabetic eye disease; acute critical illness due to certain types of heart or abdomen surgery, trauma, or acute respiratory failure.

Children should not use somatropin if they have any of the following conditions: closed epiphyses (closed bone growth plates), Prader-Willi syndrome with severe obesity, upper airway obstruction or sleep apnea, or Prader-Willi syndrome with significant respiratory impairment.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you have diabetes mellitus; have had cancer or other forms of tumor; are pregnant, planning to be pregnant or are breastfeeding.

Be sure to tell your doctor about all medications you are taking especially if they are: a glucocorticoid medication such as hydrocortisone or cortisone acetate, thyroid hormone, insulin and/or oral diabetes medicines, drugs metabolized by the liver (for example, corticosteroids, sex steroids, anticonvulsants, cyclosporine), or oral estrogen replacement.

Adult height can be influenced if you are on Norditropin® for growth failure and at the same time using glucocorticoids or thyroid hormone.

If you are treated with insulin and/or oral diabetes medicines, the dose of your insulin/oral diabetes medicines may need to be adjusted.

Side effects are usually mild and temporary. Side effects may include headaches, muscle pain, joint stiffness, weakness, high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), sugar in your urine (glucosuria), swollen hands and feet due to fluid retention, and redness and itching in the area you inject.

If you have any of these symptoms, discuss them with your doctor.

If you have headaches, eyesight problems, nausea and/or vomiting, these may be symptoms of raised pressure in the brain. Contact your doctor right away.

In very rare cases children treated with somatropin have experienced pain in the hip or knee or a limp. These symptoms may be caused by a slippage of the growth plate in the hip (slipped capital femoral epiphysis).

Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) can occur in children who experience rapid growth. Because growth hormone increases growth rate, children should be monitored for progression of scoliosis.

Thyroid function tests should be performed periodically.

Skin lesions should be checked carefully for any unusual changes.

Somatropin treatment can increase the chances of developing middle ear infections in patients with Turner syndrome.

Congenital heart disease is a common finding in Noonan syndrome and patients should be closely monitored.

Talk to your doctor if you think you have any of these conditions.
Important Safety Information | Prescribing Information | Disclaimer | Privacy Statement
Site Map | Contact Us | Print This Page
Remember, your doctor is the primary source of information regarding you and your health. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about your health or medication.
The ANSWER Program® Registry, Autocover®, NordiCare®, NordiPen®, NordiPenMate®, Norditropin®, Norditropin NordiFlex®, and NovoFine® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark.
©2007 Novo Nordisk Inc. All rights reserved.