Synthetic hormone spurs girls' growth.

Treating short children with human growth hormone has shown mixed results. Although some studies have found short-term gains in height, these can be offset by accelerated puberty, which stunts growth later in adolescence.

Now, researchers at Southampton University Hospitals in England have found that a synthetic growth hormone called somatropin can increase girls' height by age 16 without any dire side effects. The researchers gave seven girls a daily injection of somatropin between the ages of 8 and 14. The girls started puberty at about the same age--13.5, on average--as 25 untreated girls.

All of the girls were chosen because they ranked in the lowest 2 percentile for height among roughly 14,000 girls surveyed, yet they didn't have abnormally low concentrations of growth hormone in their blood, says study coauthor Jean Mulligan. Most of the girls had short parents.

The study, funded by the pharmaceutical companies Pharmacia and Upjohn, appears in the March 28 Lancet.

On average, the girls who received somatropin grew to 5'1" by age 16, when most girls approach their adult height. That was 2.4 to 3.0 inches taller than the girls who didn't get the growth hormone.

Although the treatment appears safe and boosted height, it didn't improve the girls' psychological outlook noticeably, Mulligan said. "The girls who were 4' 10" appeared just as happy and well balanced," she said. In addition, the drug costs roughly $46,000 per inch gained in height, the researchers calculated. A similar test is under way with boys, Mulligan said.