Relationship of type I procollagen to corticosteroid therapy in children with inflammatory bowel disease

• Published in: The Journal of pediatrics Vol. 112; no. 6; pp. 893 - 898
• Main Authors: Hyams, Jeffrey S., Moore, Robert E., Leichtner, Alan M., Carey, Dennis E., Goldberg, Burton D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.06.1988; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - administration & dosage; Adrenal Cortex Hormones - pharmacology; Asthma - blood; Asthma - drug therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Colitis, Ulcerative - blood; Colitis, Ulcerative - drug therapy; Crohn Disease - blood; Crohn Disease - drug therapy; Digestive system; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Growth - drug effects; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Peptide Fragments - blood; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Procollagen - blood; Human; Therapeutic efficiency; Corticosteroid; Crohn disease; Chemotherapy; Procollagen; Antiinflammatory agent; Digestive diseases; Methylprednisolone; Child; Ulcerative colitis
• ISSN: 0022-3476; 1097-6833
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-3476(88)80210-5

We determined the serum concentration of the C-terminal propertide of type I procollagen (pColl-I-C) in 60 children and adolescents (ages 4 to 17 years) with inflammatory bowel disease (24 ulcerative colitis, 36 Crohn disease) and in seven children (ages 2 to 15 years) with nongastrointestinal disease (asthma) during varying regimens of corticosteroid therapy. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease were grouped according to disease severity (mild, and moderate to severe). Significantly lower pColl-I-C concentrations and growth velocities were found in each severity group among those subjects receiving daily corticosteroid therapy compared with those receiving alternate-day or no corticosteroid therapy (P<0.01). When daily corticosteroid therapy was initiated and then maintained for 7 to 14 days in 11 patients with exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease clinical improvement resulted, but mean procollagen concentrations decreased significantly (P<0.001). In seven children with asthma receiving methylprednisolone intravenously, significant decreases in pColl-I-C concentrations were noted within 24 to 48 hours of therapy (P<0.001). These data indicate that serum procollagen values decrease during both shortand long-term daily administration of corticosteroid therapy. Longitudinal assessment of procollagen concentrations may provide rapid assessment of the effects of different corticosteroid regimens on growth.