Growth hormone treatment in children with sporadic primary microcephaly

G. L. Spadoni, S. Cianfarani, S. Bernardini, V. Fabrizio, C. Galasso and B. Boscherini
Department of Pediatrics, Second University of Rome, Italy.

Four children with sporadic primary microcephaly associated with short stature, delayed bone age, and low growth velocity are described. All of the children showed a normal growth hormone response to standard pharmacological tests but one of the patients had a reduced spontaneous growth hormone nocturnal secretion. Regardless of the results of their somatotropic function evaluation, the patients were treated with exogenous growth hormone and all of them showed an increase in growth rate.