Abstract
Central nervous system stimulant drugs have been widely used for behavior modification in children. There are reports to suggest some of these drugs cause growth retardation. Possible etiologies for the growth retardation include decreased food intake, alteration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-growth hormone-somatomedin system versus a direct effect at the cartilage level. In a study of 28 hyperkinetic children the initial mean resting growth hormone (GH) was 2.8 ng/ml; after 4 wks of treatment it decreased to 0.70 (p>0.2) and post-treatment was 3.3. The mean stimulated GH concentration after one year of therapy in this group was normal, 14.05 ng/ml, suggesting suppression of GH secretion is not the etiology of the growth retardation. Somatomedin activities were not significantly different before or after therapy. The addition of 1 mM methamphetamine, methylphenidate or pemoline to cartilage cells in vitro showed 70%, 63% and 8% inhibition of 35SO4 uptake into glycosaminoglycans (GAGS), respectively. Assay of the glycosyltransferases involved in forming the GAGS biosynthetic linkage region showed xylosyltransferase to be inhibited 50 to 65%, galactosyltransferase 30-40% and glucuronyl-transferase was inhibited only 15-18%. Pemoline had minimal effects on these enzymatic activities. These data suggest one possible explanation for the growth retardation seen in children nay be due to a direct inhibition of cartilage GAGS biosynthesis rather than any specific alteration in hormonal mechanisms.
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Dickinson, L., Kilgore, B., Schedewie, H. et al. 36 EFFECT OF BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION DRUGS ON CARTILAGE GLYCOSAMINOGLYCAN BIOSYNTHESIS. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 369 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00041
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00041