The short-term effect of testosterone on growth in boys on hemodialysis

In view of a possible resistance to hormones as a cause of growth failure in renal insufficient children, a short-term study was performed to assess the effect of low-dose testosterone administration in boys with end-stage renal failure. Eight boys with a mean age of 11.4±1.2 years and a mean height deviation of -3.9 SD according to French standards received 50 mg/m 2 /day of a testosterone or placebo gel in a double-blind crossover fashion, each for a period of four weeks. Growth velocity was assessed by knemometry. The mean plasma testosterone levels rose from 0.16±0.06 ng/ml to 1.98±0.35 ng/ml during the testosterone treatment (p<0.01), whereas it remained low during the placebo treatment: 0.23±0.09 ng/ml versus 0.19±0.06 ng/ml before