Eli Lilly's hormone, Humatrope, has been sold in the United States since 1987 and used for treating children with growth-hormone deficiencies. With the new approval, Indianapolis-based Lilly will be able to market Humatrope for short children with normal levels of the hormone and no evidence of a disease that stunts growth.
The FDA said it approved the treatment for the shortest 1.2 percent of children. For 10-year-old boys and girls, that would correspond to a height of less than 4 feet 1 inch. Their expected adult height without treatment would be less than 5 feet 3 inches for men and 4 feet 11 inches for women. [...]
An advisory committee in June voted 8-2 to recommend approving Humatrope for the new use after debating whether children who are otherwise healthy should be given multiple injections every week for years in order to grow what may amount to a few inches. At that meeting, Lilly argued that short children often face teasing and bullying, as well as social isolation as adults, and therefore needed a treatment option.
"Humatrope"
U.S. Clears New Use for Lilly Growth Hormone
Tags: doomed, mutants
Current Music: The Human League -- Empire State Human ♬
8 Responses:
This is fascinating. I had always assumed it was already acceptable for a physician to prescribe a drug for uses other that those established by the FDA. Especially if there is already literature published in regard to studies or observations that the drug can be used for other conditions.
I had also assumed this was something expected.
But it still gives me chills, this one.
I am 100% behind the concept of body and mind modification.
But kids?
I, for one, welcome our new genetically superior masters.
Well, for now at least, they're still our just-slightly-below-average-height masters.
You're a little short, aren't you, kid? No, really. You're clinically short. There's something *wrong* with you. Nobody likes short people. These drugs will make you ok. Sleep well, freako.
I just wanted to acknowledge your excellent choice of music for this story.
This is great news. No longer will anyone have to suffer the stigma of being among the shortest 1.2% of children.
Apparently, for <lj user="hepkitten">'s children, there is still hope.
Isn't there a history of people on growth hormone turning out too tall because the dosage is hard to judge? Don't etiolated giants also get teased at school?
There seems to be a lot of talk about how you must do X or must not do Y because the kid in question will be teased at school. To they really believe that it is somehow possible to craft a child whom it is impossible to tease?