My son has sickle cell and is shorter than his teenage peers. Can steroids help?
1) Most people with growth delay related to sickle cell are treated with human growth hormone (HGH) injections. This is not a steroid. The HGH treatment should be prescribed & monitored by an endocrine specialist. The treatment is very expensive and is given by injection. Most people have no side effects. The most common side effects are hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level) and inadequate thyroid function. HGH for people with sickle cell should be used before puberty, while bones can still grow longer, and its use Other rare side effects include diabetes, heart enlargement, high blood pressure, and enlargement of the kidneys. I have seen some sickle cell children treated with HGH by endocrine specialists and they did OK. Antisickling therapy with hydroxyurea or chronic transfusion was discussed as part of the treatment plan. A nutritional assessment and X-rays of bone growth were also part of the treatment plan. HGH is not at all the same as with anabolic and androgenic steroids. 2) An
