[The drug arginine aspartate (pargin) in the therapy of hyposomal states].

Arginine aspartate (Pargine), a stimulator of endogenous STH, was given to 13 adolescents with retarded growth resulting from a relative deficiency of STH for 6 mos. Two patients discontinued treatment after 3 mos., two others are still on therapy. In 3 adolescents the rate of growth against a background of therapy was insufficient (1.3 cm over 6 mos.). Six patients demonstrated a positive effect: the rate of growth over 6 mos. was 4.13 +/- 0.39 cm, the basal level of STH increased by 6.3 +/- 2.46 ng/ml. The drug use did not accelerate skeletal differentiation in either of the patients. A conclusion is that the drug can be used to influence growth processes in patients with hyposomal conditions.