Growth hormone facts for kids

Growth hormone (GH), also known as somatotropin, is a special hormone in your body. It helps you grow, and it helps your cells make copies of themselves and fix themselves. GH is super important for the growth of most parts of your body, including your bones!

It also helps your cells use protein and burn fat. This gives your body the energy it needs to grow and develop. If someone doesn't have enough GH, they might be very short, which is sometimes called dwarfism.

Scientists have also looked at using GH to help farm animals grow faster. For example, a type of GH for cows, called bovine somatotropin, is approved in the United States to help dairy cows make more milk. This topic has caused some debate. You might see milk containers that say if the milk came from cows treated with this hormone or not.

Human Growth Hormone

In medicine, growth hormone is used as a special prescription drug. Doctors use it to help children and adults who have problems with their growth. In the United States, you can only get HGH legally with a prescription from a doctor. HGH is a very complex hormone, and scientists are still learning about all the things it does in the body.

A man-made version of human growth hormone was created in 1985. The FDA, which is like a health watchdog in the US, approved it for certain uses.

When HGH is Used for Kids

Doctors can give HGH injections to children for different reasons, such as:

• Short height: If a child is very short and doctors don't know why.
• Turner's syndrome: This is a genetic condition that affects how girls develop.
• Prader-Willi syndrome: This is a rare genetic condition. It can cause weak muscles, low levels of sex hormones, and a constant feeling of hunger.
• Kidney problems: Children with long-term kidney disease might need HGH.
• HGH deficiency: If a child's body doesn't make enough of its own growth hormone.
• Born small: If a baby was born much smaller than expected for their age.

How Growth Hormone Affects Feelings

Growth hormone does more than just help you grow physically. It also plays a role in how you feel and think.

Feeling Good and Energetic

Studies have shown that GH is important for your mental and emotional well-being. It also helps you keep a good energy level. Adults who don't have enough GH often feel sad or have depression more often than others. Some people think that giving GH might help with depression caused by low GH. However, doctors are still studying what happens over a long time with this kind of treatment.

Thinking and Learning

GH has also been studied to see how it affects your thinking abilities, like learning and remembering things. It seems that GH can help improve how well people think. It might even be helpful for patients who have trouble thinking clearly because they don't have enough GH.

See also

In Spanish: Hormona del crecimiento para niños