Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T09:27:31.262Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Increased Availability of Human Growth Hormone: A Challenge for Health Economics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Kerstin Albertsson-Wikland
Affiliation:
University of Göteborg, Sweden
Agne Larsson
Affiliation:
University of Uppsala, Sweden

Extract

Human growth hormone (GH) has until recently been prepared commercially from pituitary glands collected at autopsy. Availability has been limited and cost high, so the indications for GH treatment have had to be “tight.” Owing to recent development in hybrid DNA technology, the availability of GH has increased dramatically. At the same time, the manufacturers have maintained constant prices, so that treatment costs continue to influence decision making about its use. This rapid transition has generated an interesting change of strategy, which is outlined in this review.

Type
Emerging Technology
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Albertsson-Wikland, K., Westphal, O., & Westgren, U.Daily subcutaneous administration of human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient children. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 1986, 75, 8997.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Albertsson-Wikland, K.Growth hormone treatment in short children. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 1986, 325 (Suppl.), 6470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Albertsson-Wikland, K.Clinical experience with recombinant authentic human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient children. Endocrinologia Japonica, 1987, 34 (Suppl.1), 9199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Anner'n, G., Sara, V. R., Hall, K., & Tuvemo, T.Growth and somatomedin responses to growth hormone in Down's syndrome. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 1986, 61, 4852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Burns, E. C., Tanner, J. M., Preece, M. A., & Cameron, N.Final height and pubertal development in 55 children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency treated for between 2 and 15 years. European Journal of Pediatrics, 1981, 137, 155–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Brown, P., Gajdusek, D. C., Gibbs, C. J. Jr., & Asher, D. M.Potential epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from human growth hormone therapy. New England Journal of Medicine, 1985, 313, 728–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Falkner, F., & Tanner, J. M. (eds). Human growth: A comprehensive treatise, vol. 2, 2nd ed.New York: Plenum Press, 1986.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Frasier, S. D.Human pituitary growth hormone (hGH) therapy in growth hormone deficiency. Endocrine Review, 1983, 4, 155–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Gray, G. L., Baldridge, J. S., McKeown, K. S., Heynekec, H. L., & Chang, C. N.Periplasmic production of correctly processed human growth hormone in Escherichia Coli: Natural and bacterial signal sequences are interchangeable. Gene, 1985, 39, 247–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Hintz, R., MacGillivray, J. A., & Tintner, R.Fatal degenerative neurologic disease in patients who received pituitary derived human growth hormone. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 1985, 34, 359–66.Google Scholar
11. Knobil, E., & Sawyer, W. H. (eds.). Handbook of Physiology, vol. IV, Part 2. Washington, DC: American Society of Physiology, 1974.Google Scholar
12. Li, C. H., & Papkoff, H.Preparations and properties of growth hormone from human and monkey pituitary glands. Science, 1956, 124, 1293–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Mayne, N. G., Hsing, H. M., Baxter, J. D., & Belagaje, R. M. Direct expression of human growth hormone in Escherichia Coli with the lipoprotein promotor. In Bollon, A. P. (ed.). Recombinant DNA products: Insulin, interferor and growth hormone, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc. 1984, 135-44.Google Scholar
14. Milner, R. D. G. Which children should have growth hormone therapy? The Lancet, 1986 (March 1), 483–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Preece, M. A.Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Implications for growth hormone deficient children. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology, 1986, 12, 509–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16. Raben, M. S.Treatment of a pituitary dwarf with human growth hormone. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology, 1958, 18, 901–03.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Rosenfeld, K. G., Hintz, R. L., Johanson, A. J., & Sherman, B.Results from the first 2 years of a clinical trial with recombinant DNA-derived human growth hormone in Turner's Syndrome. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 1987, 331 (Suppl.), 5966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Savage, M. A., & Randall, R. A. (eds.) Growth disorders. Clinics in endocrinology and metabolism. Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders, vol. 15, No. 3, 1986.Google Scholar
19. Spiliotis, B. E., August, G. P., Hung, W., Sonis, W., Mendelson, W., & Bercu, B. B.Growth hormone neuro-secretory dysfunction. A treatable cause of short stature. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1984, 251, 2223–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. Williams, T. C., & Frohman, L. A.Potential therapeutic indications for growth hormone and growth hormone relasing hormone in conditions other than growth retardation. Pharmacotherapy, 1986, 6, 311–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar