Utilidad de la determinación del factor de crecimiento insulino-simil tipo I (IGF-I) y de su proteína ligante tipo 3 (IGFBP-3) en el diagnóstico de la deficiencia de hormona de crecimiento en niños

Background: The diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) is based upon the results of GH stimulation tests, which have several drawbacks. Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 for the diagnosis of GHD in prepuberal children. Material and methods: We measured IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in three group of subjects: I. GHD (n:24), height 7 ng/ml (15.3 n 6.9 ng/ml), y III. Normal school children (n:35) with normal heights (-0.17 n 0.12 SD) were studied as controls. Results: IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 were significantly lower in GHD than in NGHD and controls (p