A Weekly Roundup of News, Features and Commentary : Kidney Failure and Height

Children with kidney failure tend to be extraordinarily short because of their illness, sometimes barely topping 4 feet. Even with successful transplants, they do not come close to reaching their full potential as a result of a steroid commonly used with anti-rejection drugs.

To help the youngsters grow, Dr. Amir Tejani, director of renal services at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, is trying to withhold the steroid prednisone from their post-transplant treatments. The drug is usually combined with the potent anti-rejection drug cyclosporine and inhibits the growth plate in the bone from functioning normally. It also causes acne and puffiness, most noticeably in the face.

Tejani said at the annual conference of the American Society of Transplant Physicians that he has tried since 1983 to remove prednisone from the treatment of 30 children whose transplanted kidneys have functioned well.

Twenty-three of the youngsters were able to be treated solely with cyclosporine, Tejani said. Of these, nine had to return to prednisone after experiencing episodes of organ rejection.

The remaining 14 patients have been off prednisone for up to 4 1/2 years without any episodes of organ rejection or side effects, according to Tejani. More importantly, all of them have grown, including one 17-year-old boy who has reached 5 feet 8.