Technology spurt resolves growth hormone problem, ends shortage
Raymond Hintz, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist, has been treating children and young adults with short stature at Stanford (Calif) University's pediatric endocrinology clinic for ten years.
He especially recalls one patient, a Californian who had received human growth hormone therapy at the clinic for 13 years. By age 19 years, the young man had reached a normal height. But, Hintz says, because the youth's case was unique in that he had diabetes and was also receiving thyroid hormone replacement therapy, he was transferred from Hintz' pediatric clinic to an adult endocrinology facility.
In May 1984, the young man's muscular coordination appeared to deteriorate, and he experienced difficulty speaking. Several physicians and neurologists examined him. No one could pinpoint the cause.
Finally, when his condition became so severe that he was unable to walk with a steady gait, his parents took him to the emergency department of a local hospital. Still,
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