The effect of cortisone on height

[Wizzi]

Hello everyone, my question this time is related to the consequences on the development in height and in the physical structure of young children which had to take cortisone before puberty. As you will remember my son has Mpa that hit the kidneys in 2017 when he was 11 years old. Today he is 13 years old, the disease is in remission. He is fine and now takes only 2.5 of cortisone, plus Ramipril and celltech. At the beginning he took a lot of intravenous cortisone, as many of you imagine, and then for several months by mouth he took high doses of Prednisone. I noticed that height development has stalled. He's the same child as a year ago. I'm glad he's fine; the doctor does not care about hieght but I'd like to give him an answer relative to this problem. There is someone who has developed the disease at a young age and can tell me about his experience?

thank you in advance for your answer

[PMRpro]

adc.bmj.com/content/87/2/93

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Do these help? I haven't read the second one yet...

[Wizzi in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks . Unfortunately the articles say that cortisone is bad for statural grow even of the dose osvonly 2.5

[PMRpro in reply to Wizzi]

I thought that was the case - but didn't want to chance my arm! I wonder if it will catch up even if it remains behind whatever percentile? I hope he doesn't get too bothered - not so easy for a guy is it? How tall is he?

[AmyS1]

Hello you need to see a very experienced paediatrician. Be frank that you are concerned about your child's growth. Many children are treated with steroids and it can affect growth however an experienced paediatrician will look at your child's bone age,dose of steroids etc etc. In some cases growth hormone maybe useful. It is also important to be aware that chronic illness slows growth so keeping the disease in remission is important. Generally children who have been ill and then recover show some catch up growth. Ensure your child is an appropriate weight. They often fail to gain weight when ill.Hope this is helpful.

[Wizzi in reply to AmyS1]

Thanks to both, for now Lorenzo is in the norm: he is 13 years old, he is 1.50 cm tall and weighs 45 kilos, but for the last two years he has not grown since he got sick. The disease is in remission and he is fine, but all the cortisone he had to take has created him osteopenia and cataracts and I also believe the suspension of growth which, according to the doctor who follows him, will resume. Now it takes 2.5 mg of cortisone every day, but in 2017 it took a lot of it both intravenously and by mouth. Does anyone have a similar experience? I will ask for the next check for growth hormone.

Thank you so much for the comfort

[DuncanC in reply to Wizzi]

Tavis stopped, Wizzi, when he was under medication. A couple of years after he reduced his meds to just azothioprine and lisinopril, he started again. It’s hard to say if he is as tall as he would have been, but as he is roughly the same height as me (6 foot), I reckon he has caught up. I marked his height on the kitchen door, and can clearly see the 2-3 years when he hardly grew. I don’t think there is a normal pattern here that you can refer to, but for these young people, maybe nature finds a way.

[Wizzi in reply to DuncanC]

Hi Duncan and thank you very much