Pediatric indications
In children and adolescents, Norditropin® is prescribed for:
- Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) — children who do not produce enough growth hormone, typically diagnosed through stimulation testing and growth-curve analysis.
- Turner syndrome — a genetic condition in girls associated with short stature.
- Noonan syndrome — a genetic condition affecting growth and development.
- Born small for gestational age (SGA) — children who were small at birth and who have not caught up in growth by age 2–4.
- Idiopathic short stature (ISS) — non-GHD short stature below specific thresholds, where other causes have been ruled out.
- SHOX deficiency — a genetic short-stature condition caused by mutations in the SHOX gene.
Adult indications
- Adult growth hormone deficiency — either carried over from childhood-onset GHD, or adult-onset due to pituitary disease, tumors, surgery, radiation, or trauma. Diagnosis typically requires stimulation testing documenting inadequate growth hormone response.
About "off-label" use. Norditropin® is sometimes requested for indications outside those approved by regulators — for example, "anti-aging," athletic performance, or bodybuilding. Our affiliated pharmacy does not dispense for non-approved indications. Prescriptions must come from a licensed physician and must be for an approved medical use. Requests that do not meet these criteria will be declined.
How a diagnosis is established
Determining whether a patient has growth hormone deficiency or another indication for somatropin typically involves one or more of:
- A physical examination and medical history
- Blood tests, including IGF-1 and IGFBP-3
- Growth hormone stimulation testing (e.g., arginine, clonidine, glucagon, insulin tolerance test)
- Imaging of the pituitary gland when warranted
- Genetic testing for conditions like Turner syndrome, Noonan syndrome, or SHOX deficiency
- In children, tracking of height and growth velocity over time
Diagnosis and treatment decisions are made by the physician overseeing the patient's care.
When somatropin is not appropriate
Somatropin is not prescribed for patients with certain contraindications, which may include:
- Active malignancy
- Acute critical illness following open-heart surgery, abdominal surgery, multiple trauma, or respiratory failure
- Proliferative or severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy
- Closed epiphyses, in children being treated for growth
- Hypersensitivity to somatropin or any excipients
The prescribing physician will screen for these and other relevant considerations before starting therapy.