Growth Hormone Treatment in Children With Phelan McDermid Syndrome

Summary

Phelan McDermid syndrome (PMS) is a rare genetic form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to deletions or mutations in the SHANK3 gene. This is a pilot open labeled trial of growth hormone therapy in children with PMS targeting social withdrawal and repetitive behavior. This research study will include children with PMS between 2-12 years of age who will receive growth hormone daily for 12 weeks, if found to be eligible. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of growth hormone on behavioral outcomes such as the aberrant behavior checklist social withdrawal subscale (ABC-SW) and repetitive behavior scale- revised (RBS-R). The effects of growth hormone on visual evoked potentials will also be assessed. Growth hormone increases insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and a previous trial of IGF-1 therapy in PMS children showed improvement in these behavioral scales. Growth hormone has been studied for decades with an excellent safety profile and fewer adverse effects compared to IGF-1 therapy in other conditions. Hence, this may be a viable therapeutic option. There is no treatment currently available for PMS and this trial is therefore extremely important.

Timeline

Start

2019-09-13

Primary completion

2020-06-05

Completion

2020-06-05

Publications

• Background Kolevzon A, Bush L, Wang AT, Halpern D, Frank Y, Grodberg D, Rapaport R, Tavassoli T, Chaplin W, Soorya L, Buxbaum JD. A pilot controlled trial of insulin-like growth factor-1 in children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome. Mol Autism. 2014 Dec 12;5(1):54. doi: 10.1186/2040-2392-5-54. eCollection 2014.
• Background De Rubeis S, Siper PM, Durkin A, Weissman J, Muratet F, Halpern D, Trelles MDP, Frank Y, Lozano R, Wang AT, Holder JL Jr, Betancur C, Buxbaum JD, Kolevzon A. Delineation of the genetic and clinical spectrum of Phelan-McDermid syndrome caused by SHANK3 point mutations. Mol Autism. 2018 Apr 27;9:31. doi: 10.1186/s13229-018-0205-9. eCollection 2018.
• Background Costales J, Kolevzon A. The therapeutic potential of insulin-like growth factor-1 in central nervous system disorders. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Apr;63:207-22. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.01.001. Epub 2016 Jan 15.
• Background Grimberg A, DiVall SA, Polychronakos C, Allen DB, Cohen LE, Quintos JB, Rossi WC, Feudtner C, Murad MH; Drug and Therapeutics Committee and Ethics Committee of the Pediatric Endocrine Society. Guidelines for Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Treatment in Children and Adolescents: Growth Hormone Deficiency, Idiopathic Short Stature, and Primary Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Deficiency. Horm Res Paediatr. 2016;86(6):361-397. doi: 10.1159/000452150. Epub 2016 Nov 25.
• Background Aramburo C, Alba-Betancourt C, Luna M, Harvey S. Expression and function of growth hormone in the nervous system: a brief review. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2014 Jul 1;203:35-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.04.035. Epub 2014 May 13.
• Sethuram S, Levy T, Foss-Feig J, Halpern D, Sandin S, Siper PM, Walker H, Buxbaum JD, Rapaport R, Kolevzon A. A proof-of-concept study of growth hormone in children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome. Mol Autism. 2022 Jan 29;13(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s13229-022-00485-7.

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Indications