Section of Medical Pathophysiology and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Centre for Rare Diseases, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Feb 24;12:634288. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.634288. eCollection 2021.
The role of growth hormone (GH) during childhood and adulthood is well established. Once final stature is reached, GH continues to act during the transition, the period between adolescence and adulthood in which most somatic and psychological development is obtained. The achievement of peak bone mass represents the most relevant aspect of GH action during the transition period; however, equally clear is its influence on body composition and metabolic profile and, probably, in the achievement of a complete gonadal and sexual maturation. Despite this, there are still some aspects that often make clinical practice difficult and uncertain, in particular in evaluating a possible persistence of GH deficiency once final stature has been reached. It is also essential to identify which subjects should undergo re-testing and, possibly, replacement therapy, and the definition of unambiguous criteria for therapeutic success. Moreover, even during the transition phase, the relationship between GH substitution therapy and cancer survival is of considerable interest. In view of the above, the aim of this paper is to clarify these relevant issues through a detailed analysis of the literature, with particular attention to the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects.
生长激素（GH）在儿童期和成年期的作用已得到充分证实。一旦达到最终身高，GH 仍会在青春期到成年期的过渡期间发挥作用，在此期间，大多数身体和心理发育都会完成。获得峰值骨量是 GH 在过渡期间作用的最相关方面；然而，同样清楚的是，它对身体成分和代谢特征有影响，并且可能对获得完全的性腺和性成熟有影响。尽管如此，仍有一些方面常常使临床实践变得困难和不确定，特别是在评估最终身高达到后是否可能存在 GH 缺乏的情况下。确定哪些患者需要重新检测和可能需要替代治疗，以及明确治疗成功的标准也是至关重要的。此外，即使在过渡阶段，GH 替代治疗与癌症生存之间的关系也具有重要意义。鉴于上述情况，本文旨在通过详细分析文献，特别关注临床、诊断和治疗方面，阐明这些相关问题。
