Growth hormone deficiency
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Glossary

Catch-up growth

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) causes growth that is slower than normal. When GHD is treated with human growth hormone therapy, the body starts to grow faster and there is "catch-up" growth. In other words, the body tries to catch up 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 becomes older. The goal of treatment is to have catch-up growth allow the child or teenager reach his or her full potential adult height—the height the child would have reached if he or she did not have GHD.

Closed epiphyses

The epiphyses extend from the ends of our long bones and are centers of growth. The epiphyses remain open while a person still has potential for growth; when the epiphyses are closed, there is no potential for growth.

Full growth potential

Everyone has a different full growth potential, the maximum (most) 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

Specialized parts of the body that make hormones that act as chemical messengers taking messages from one part of the body to another. The pituitary gland sends out growth hormone. This makes us grow. There are numerous glands and hormones in the body, performing a variety of important functions.

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD)

GHD means a person's body doesn't make enough growth hormone by itself. 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 Stimulation Test

A Growth Hormone Stimulation Test is a procedure used to determine if your pituitary gland, the gland that produces growth hormone, is doing its job. The test will “stimulate” your pituitary gland, helping your doctor understand if your hormones are being secreted in normal amounts. During the test, 1 or more medicines will be given to you…some in pill form (which can usually be dissolved, if necessary), some by injection or IV needle. At various time intervals, samples of blood will be taken so the doctor can measure how the growth hormone in your body is responding. Often, a small needle is inserted into a vein for the duration of the test (also called a “port”) so that several blood samples can be taken with only 1 needle insertion. Throughout the test, you will be kept comfortable, either in a recliner, hospital bed, or on an exam table. Total testing time may take several hours, so you should plan your day around it.

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 found in people. 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-PIT-oo-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.

Intracranial hypertension (IH)

This is a condition in which the pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the skull is too high. IH, along with papilledema, vision change, headache, nausea, and vomiting, have been reported in a small number of patients on growth hormone therapy.

NordiCare®

NordiCare® is a program for children, teens, and adults who take Norditropin®, their families, nurses, and doctors. NordiCare® provides users of Norditropin® products with insurance assistance to ensure that they receive their medication. NordiCare® also provides Norditropin® Starter Kits with educational materials, an instructional video, Norditropin®, and much more. For more information, go to the NordiCare® support section.

Papilledema

Papilledema is a swelling of the optic nerve where it enters the back of the eye. It is caused by increased pressure from the cerebrospinal fluid and can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, and visual changes.

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.


Indications and Usage

Norditropin® (somatropin [rDNA origin] injection) is used to treat: children who have growth failure because of low or no growth hormone; children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome or Turner syndrome; children who are short (in stature) because they were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years; and adults who do not make enough growth hormone.

Important Safety Information

Do not use Norditropin® if: you have a critical illness caused by certain types of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or breathing (respiratory) problems; you are a child with Prader-Willi syndrome who is severely obese or has breathing problems including sleep apnea; you have cancer or other tumors; your healthcare provider tells you that you have certain types of eye problems caused by diabetes; you are a child with closed bone growth plates (epiphyses) or you are allergic to any of the ingredients in the medicine.

Before you take Norditropin®, tell your healthcare provider if you: have diabetes; had cancer or any tumor; have any other medical condition; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant; are breast-feeding or plan to breast-feed.

Norditropin® can cause serious side effects, including: high risk of death in people who have critical illnesses because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems; high risk of death in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese or have breathing problems including sleep apnea; return of tumor or cancerous growths; high blood sugar (hyperglycemia); increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension); swollen hands and feet due to fluid retention; decrease in thyroid hormone levels; hip and knee pain or a limp in children (slipped capital femoral epiphysis); worsening of pre-existing curvature of the spine (scoliosis); middle ear infection, hearing problems or ear problems in patients with Turner syndrome.

Patients with Noonan syndrome and Turner syndrome should be closely monitored by their doctors as they are more likely to have congenital heart disease.

The most common side effects of Norditropin® include: headaches, muscle pain, joint stiffness, 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 headaches, eye problems, nausea or vomiting, contact your healthcare provider right away.

Norditropin® may affect how other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Norditropin® works so be sure to tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take: glucocorticoid medication, thyroid hormone, insulin or other medicine for diabetes, medicines that are metabolized by the liver (e.g., corticosteroids, sex steroids, anticonvulsants, cyclosporine), or oral estrogen replacement medicine.


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