Author(s)

Milton Rodrigo Lafuente Covarrubias¹, Luis Fernando de Azevedo Piovezani¹, Frederico Martins Cordeiro¹, William Cabrera Viana¹, Mirella Hansen de Almeida², Denise Rosso Tenório Wanderley Rocha¹, Alberto Krayyem Arbex^1,3

¹Division of Endocrinology, IPEMED Medical School (IPEMED), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
²Fellow at the Joslin Medical Center, Boston, USA.
³Visiting Scientist, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, USA.

Short stature is a clinical challenge in the daily practice of pediatric endocrinology, regarding the several technical, cultural and economic factors associated with its approach. This article intends to review the physiology of growth hormone secretion, the endocrine regulation of human growth and the clinical aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of short stature. It specifically analyses the treatment of short stature with growth hormone, along with its side effects, cost/benefit analysis and possible risks. A clinical case from a medical school is also described, intending a better understanding of this frequent ambulatory situation in endocrinology and pediatrics.

Growth Hormone, GH Treatment, Short Stature, Abnormal Growth, Children

Covarrubias, M. , de Azevedo Piovezani, L. , Cordeiro, F. , Viana, W. , de Almeida, M. , Rocha, D. and Arbex, A. (2016) Understanding Growth Hormone Secretion and Short Stature. Open Journal of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, 6, 78-86. doi: 10.4236/ojemd.2016.61011.