IMPAIRED GROWTH IN HYPERKINETIC-CHILDREN RECEIVING PEMOLINE

Decreased longitudinal growth was observed in 24 hyperkinetic children receiving pemoline therapy. Mean height velocity was 3.67 .+-. 0.25 cm/yr during therapy but 5.35 .+-. 0.42 cm/yr after treatment had been discontinued (P < 0.01). There appeared to be an inverse relationship between growth velocity and drug dosage. All patients receiving less than the median dose of 3.72 mg/kg grew 4 cm/yr or more, while 7 of 12 patients receiving more than this dose grew at a slower rate. Body weight, basal and stimulated growth hormone values, and plasma somatomedin concentrations were not significantly altered by pemoline treatment, suggesting that this drug may have a direct effect on cartilage metabolism.