Hormone Research
The Centre for Hormone Research ( www.mcri.edu.au/chr ) is the research arm of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Our research is informed by the clinical needs of our children and families, namely Diabetes, Sexual Development , Growth and Healthy Bones.
While our work in Diabetes (www.rch.org.au/diabetes) is described separately, this page will provide an overview of our goals and achievements in Hormone Research, with emphasis on growth and growth factors, Healthy Bones, and clinical research aspects of sexual development and puberty.
Research overview
Our Endocrine Clinic is attended by some 3000 children per year, with problems ranging from growth failure and excessive growth, to brittle or poorly growing bones, to problems of sexual development in early life and delayed or early puberty.
Our research into growth issues has included studies of the effect of growth hormone or growth decelerating hormones on childhood and adolescent growth. Our recent long-term follow-up studies of teenage girls treated with oestrogen for tall stature in the 1960’s-70’s showed adverse effects on fertility, a paper published in the leading international journal the Lancet (364: 1513-1517 (2004).
Our Healthy Bones unit is uncovering a large number of unrecognised fragile bones in children with chronic disease and immobility, while we have demonstrated widespread vitamin D deficiency rickets in African children sheltered from the sun.
The role of growth factors in brain growth and repair is also a focus of our work in the laboratory, including their possible role in brain cancers. We are also studying the role of growth factors and their interaction with oestrogen in bone growth and the termination of growth in late puberty. We have shown that the potent bisphosphonates, which reduce bone turnover, are very effective in improving bone strength and reducing fractures in brittle bone disease (osteogenesis imperfects).
We recently completed a large follow-up study of people diagnosed with uncertain sex at birth, in order to determine their outcome. We were pleased that over 95% of affected people were happy with the outcome.
Our work is published in leading clinical and basic journals, including Lancet, Endocrinology, Endocrine Reviews, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Journal of Pediatrics, Clinical Endocrinology, Paediatric Research. Our researchers are regularly invited to present their work at international forums and symposia. Our research is supported by competitive funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and a variety of other bodies.
Our major ongoing projects are:
- Mechanisms of interaction of growth hormone , insulin-like growth factor-I, and oestrogen in the bone growth plate
- Role of insulin-like growth factor system in neuronal cancer
- Late effects of various chronic diseases on hormone health
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| T +61 3 9345 5951 |
| F +61 3 9347 7763 |
| E george.werther@rch.org.au |
Professor George Werther