Effect of genetic subtypes and growth hormone treatment on bone mineral density in Prader-Willi syndrome

Abstract

Background: Currently, there is limited information on the effects of growth hormone and of the different genetic subtypes on bone mineral density (BMD) in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Methods: We evaluated BMD in 79 individuals with the common subtypes of PWS (48 with deletion and 27 with UPD) and the effect of growth hormone treatment (n = 46) vs. no growth hormone treatment. Results: Forty-four percent of the individuals studied had whole body, hip, or spine BMD < -1 standard deviation (SD) and 10% had a BMD