Somatropin, also commonly referred to as human growth hormone (HGH), is a hormone that is produced in the human body and excreted into the blood by the Somatropin cells of the anterior pituitary gland. It is a single-chain protein that is composed of 191 amino acids with a molecular weight of approximately 22,000 Daltons.
Somatropin is a form of human growth hormone. Human growth hormone is important in the body for the growth of bones and muscles. somatropin is used to treat growth failure in children and adults who lack natural growth hormone, and in those with chronic kidney failure, Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, short stature at birth with no catch-up growth, and other causes. Somatropin is also used to prevent severe weight loss in people with AIDS, or to treat short bowel syndrome. Somatropin may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.
NICE recommends human growth hormone (somatropin) as a possible treatment for some children with growth failure (see below).
Who can have human growth hormone (somatropin)?
Children should be able to have human growth hormone (somatropin) if they have any of the following:
- growth hormone deficiency
- Turner syndrome
- Prader–Willi syndrome
- chronic renal insufficiency
- growth failure at 4 years or older and were born small for gestational age
- short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) deficiency.
Treatment should continue until the child stops growing unless growth is slow in the first year of treatment or the child doesn’t wish to carry on with the treatment. The specialist should carefully consider weight and height before stopping treatment in children with Prader–Willi syndrome.
Why has NICE said this?
NICE looks at how well treatments work, and also at how well they work in relation to how much they cost the NHS. NICE recommended human growth hormone (somatropin) because it increases growth in children with growth failure and works well in relation to its cost.
