Publisher's Synopsis
The whole area of growth hormone has been shrouded in controversy for some years. In the US, anxious parents apply pressure for their little ones to receive this elixir, regarless of whether there is a medical condition to treat. More recently, health care organisations have balked at the very high cost of growth hormone therapy while, with a greater consciousness of evidence–based medicine, there is also growing concerns about its efficay. There are now fears about the safety of long–term growth hormone administration with possible risks of increased cardiovascular disease and diabetes, although the latter seems to be a temporary phenomenon. At the clinical level there are also uncertainties about what optimum dosing schedules to use for both children and adults, and how to manage the transition from childhood to adult (when to stop giving hormone, how to follow up). Questions and Uncertainties about Growth Hormone Therapy will tackle theses issues and provide a timely and controversial review of these topics for endocrinologists and paediatricians.
