Noordam C et al. (2006) Treatment of tall stature in boys with somatostatin analogue 201-995: effect on final height. Eur J Endocrinol 154: 253–257

Despite previous studies reporting that the somatostatin analog 201–995 (SMS) reduces growth in children in the short-term, the long-term efficacy and safety of SMS for the treatment of tall stature in boys has not previously been evaluated.

In this study, Noordam et al. assessed 15 boys with tall stature and a predicted final height of 197 cm who presented to the University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, between June 1993 and June 1995. Subcutaneous daily SMS injections were administered to patients, with a starting dose of 0.05 mg in prepubertal boys and 0.15 mg in pubertal boys. The dose was increased to a maximum of 0.15 and 0.25 mg in prepubertal and pubertal boys, respectively, in those whose growth hormone secretion or height velocity did not decrease by 50%. In addition, five boys were receiving treatment with androgens before initiating SMS treatment and eight boys were given androgens to induce puberty after treatment with SMS. The mean duration of SMS treatment was 33 months.

The mean reduction in predicted final height was 0.1 cm. No patient discontinued treatment because of side effects; however, 6 out of 15 boys experienced transient diarrhea and initial abdominal discomfort, and three boys were diagnosed with asymptomatic microlithiasis of the gall bladder.

The authors conclude that long-term treatment with SMS does not reduce final height by a sufficient amount to warrant SMS treatment in boys with tall stature.