EFFECT OF OXANDROLONE ON GROWTH AND FINAL HEIGHT IN TURNERS SYNDROME

Thirty-two girls with Turner's syndrome aged 11.5-16.7 years were treated with oxandrolone (0.125 mg/kg/day). The treatment period was scheduled to 2 years. Height velocity (HV) was expressed in Standard Deviation Scores (SDS), calculated by growth standards for untreated Danish Turner-girls. For girls with initial bone age below 13 years HV increased significantly from a mean pretreatment value of -0.2 SDS (3.1 cm/year) to +3.5 SDS (5.6 cm/year) in the 1st year of treatment and +2.1 SDS (4.1 cm/year) in the 2nd year. Mean bone aged velocity during treatment was 0.9 year/year. Twenty-two girls have reached final height. Predictions of their final height were made by three different methods and compared to observed final height. A significant (p < 0.001) improvement in the order of 3-4 cm was found for girls with initial bone age below 13 years, while girls with higher initial bone age had no height gain (p > 0.3). Side effects were seen in 16% of the girls.