View clinical trials related to Dwarfism.
Filter by:Background: - Some growth disorders are caused by a change in genes. Genes are the instructions the body uses to function. Changes in genes often cause them not to work correctly. Researchers want to use a new technology called exome sequencing, to look at many genes at once. This is done by looking at DNA from blood or saliva in a lab. This method may help find the cause of disorders that researchers haven t been able to find using past methods. Objectives: - To better understand genetic causes of growth disorders. Eligibility: - Children and adults with growth disorders and their family members. Design: - Participants will give a small sample of blood and/or saliva. - Researchers will purify DNA from the sample. They will perform exome sequencing and other tests to look for changes in genes. Some participants may receive limited or no genetic tests. Researchers will let them know if exome sequencing is performed. - Participants may have a medical history, physical exam, and lab tests. They may have x-rays or ultrasound tests to study the disorder in their family. - Some participants may be recommended for a specific genetic test from a commercial lab. They may have to pay for that test. - Participants will be told about test results that relate to the growth disorder. This may happen up to years after the testing. They may have to give another blood and/or saliva sample. - Some participants may get results about other health conditions. This will only happen if the information would help the person or their family protect their health. They may have to give another blood and/or saliva sample.
Background: - Overweight and obese children and adults often have lower levels of growth hormone in the blood. Regulation of growth hormone may be tied to weight and free fatty acids in the blood. Current tests of growth hormone (such as those used when evaluating the heights of children who are markedly shorter than other children of comparable age) may be affected by other factors, including obesity. Researchers are interested in evaluating the levels of growth hormone and free fatty acids in the blood of children between 7 and 14 years of age who weigh more than children of a comparable age, or who are shorter than other children of a comparable age and have been recommended for growth hormone testing as part of an evaluation for their height. Objectives: - To determine the effect of changes in free fatty acids in the blood on changes in growth hormone secretion in overweight or shorter children and young adolescents. Eligibility: - Children and adolescents between 7 and 14 years of age who weigh more than or are shorter than other children of a comparable age and do not have any medical illnesses. Design: - Participants will have two study visits, one of which will be a half day screening visit in the outpatient clinic and one of which will require 2 nights as an inpatient at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. - Participants should not eat or drink anything except water after 10 PM the night before or on the morning of the screening visit. - At the screening visit, participants will have a physical examination and medical history, provide blood and urine samples, have an oral glucose tolerance test (to check blood sugar levels), and have an x-ray of the left hand to check bone age. - The inpatient study visit will involve a physical examination and medical history, a full x-ray scan to study body fat and muscle, frequent blood tests throughout the visit, and various medications to stimulate growth hormone production and lower levels of free fatty acids in the blood.
IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) is a hormone that is normally produced in the body in response to another hormone called growth hormone. Growth Hormone is produced by a small gland at the base of the brain (the pituitary). Together IGF-1 and GH are large contributors to growth during infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Children with IGF Deficiency are short and have an imbalance in the levels of growth hormone and IGF-1 that their body produces. Their growth hormone levels are normal or even high, but IGF-1 levels do not increase normally in response to growth hormone. As a result, they have a type of growth hormone insensitivity and an inability to grow normally. This study is a test to see whether daily dosing with a combination of rhIGF-1 and rhGH will help children with IGFD grow taller more quickly than children treated with rhGH alone. The study medications, rhIGF-1 and rhGH, are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in some growth disorders in children, but the combination of rhIGF-1 and rhGH in children with IGF-1 deficiency (IGFD) is investigational.
Serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) measurements have been shown to correlate well with growth hormone action and effect, and recent data show that serum IGF-I may be related to safety and efficacy of growth hormone (GH) treatment in patients. Some studies indicate that high IGF-I levels are associated with increased cancer risk, and low IGF-I levels are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Studies in children also show that the serum IGF-I level is correlated with the change in height score achieved (that is, the higher the IGF-I level, the greater the gain in height). Pediatric endocrinologists have therefore begun to use serum IGF-I levels, in addition to growth rate and weight gain, to adjust the GH dose in treated children. Although monitoring of serum IGF-I levels is becoming standard of care in patients begin treated with GH, there are few guidelines regarding the actual logistics of adjusting GH dose. As serum IGF-I level has been linked to both safety and efficacy of GH treatment, the ideal practice would be to maintain serum IGF-I levels within a certain target range. The overall goal of our study is to construct a mathematical model which predicts the change in GH dose necessary to achieve a desired change in IGF-I level. Hypotheses to be tested by our study include the following: IGF-I measurement has a role in optimization of GH therapy; GH dose change to achieve IGF-I changes are predictable; and gender and puberty affect the relationship between dose change and target IGF-I changes.
- To assess the effect of a long-term treatment by Genotonorm on linear growth in children with short stature receiving steroid therapy - To assess the effect of a long term treatment with Genotonorm on bone mineralisation - To assess the effect of a long term treatment with Genotonorm on body composition
Growth hormone treatment improves body fat distribution but also causes insulin resistance. Scientists have recently linked insulin resistance with special stores of fat in the muscles, which can be measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The researchers hypothesize that growth hormone will paradoxically reverse the linkage between muscle fat stores and insulin resistance. To assess this association and to investigate the cause(s), the researchers will measure muscle fat stores during growth hormone treatment. Other parameters linked to insulin resistance (glucose tolerance, blood markers, and body composition) will also be assessed. This study may lead to improved strategies for monitoring growth hormone therapy.