When it comes to “hormones”, not to mention parents who do not know about medicine, even some of our medical personnel are afraid to talk about “hormones”, we often say “hormones” refers to glucocorticoids, including Prednisone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, etc. In addition, some parents mistakenly believe that growth hormone is a sex hormone, but in fact the latter is only another member of this large family. So, what is the difference between them? In fact, although they are both named “hormones” and are in the same family, they are very different. They not only “live” in different places, but also “work” in different units. Growth hormone is a protein hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland of human body, which consists of 141 amino acids. It is the most important growth-promoting hormone in the body. The growth of children’s height is mainly achieved by the division and proliferation of cells in the cartilage plate between the backbone and epiphysis of long bones, and growth hormone has a significant role in promoting the division and proliferation of these cartilage cells. At puberty, growth hormone, in concert with sex hormones, further causes rapid height growth. Growth hormone also has a significant role in promoting protein synthesis, so it also has a significant role in promoting the growth of various organs and tissues in the body. When children suffer from congenital or acquired diseases that cause growth hormone deficiency or insufficient secretion, it can cause short stature or even dwarfism, and the growth of various organs and tissues throughout the body is also retarded. Synthetic recombinant growth hormone has exactly the same chemical structure as the growth hormone produced by the human pituitary gland. Appropriate use of recombinant growth hormone as replacement therapy can significantly promote height growth and improve the growth of various organs and tissues throughout the body of the child. Growth hormone is currently the only effective drug for the treatment of pituitary dwarfism, and it has been in clinical use for nearly 50 years. Originally derived from the pituitary gland of animals, it was soon proven to be inactive in humans. With the change of the times, the development and application of growth hormone became more and more mature, and the first genetically recombinant human growth hormone was introduced in 1979 and started to be used in clinical practice in the early 1980s, bringing good news to thousands of children with dwarfism and changing their destiny. Glucocorticoid is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex. Under normal physiological conditions, it plays an important role in regulating the metabolism of nutrients and the functions of various organs in the body, and is one of the hormones necessary for maintaining life. These drugs have strong anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and immunosuppressive effects, but their long-term use in large doses can cause many side effects, such as peptic ulcers, hypertension, osteoporosis, immune deficiency and centripetal obesity. Sex hormones are several steroid hormones secreted by the gonads and adrenal cortex. The testes mainly secrete testosterone, the ovaries mainly secrete estradiol and progesterone, and the adrenal cortex mainly secretes dehydroisosterone. During fetal life, the level of sex hormones is high, which plays a decisive role in the sex differentiation and development of fetal reproductive organs. At puberty, sex hormones rise again significantly, which is not only essential for the development and maturation of reproductive organs and sexual characteristics, but also synergizes with growth hormone to cause a sudden increase in body growth. However, throughout childhood, the reproductive organs remain infantile, and the level of sex hormones in the body remains at a very low level. At this time, if foods or drugs containing sex hormones are consumed in larger doses or for longer periods of time, they may cause early development of reproductive organs and sexual characteristics. From the above, it is clear that growth hormone is completely different from glucocorticoids and sex hormones in terms of source, chemical structure, and physiological and pharmacological effects, so the proper use of growth hormone to treat short stature in children will not produce glucocorticoids or sex hormones-like effects and side effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of growth hormone in the treatment of growth hormone deficiency, congenital ovarian hypoplasia, infants younger than fetal age (i.e. intrauterine growth retardation) and idiopathic dwarfism in 1985, 1996, 2001 and 2003, respectively, and has achieved encouraging results. In the late 1990s, domestic recombinant human growth hormone was introduced, and its efficacy and safety have been confirmed by clinical practice, and its price is much cheaper than imported products. However, this does not mean that growth hormone is a panacea for dwarfism. If the child has already passed the pubertal growth period and the epiphysis has completely closed, the growth potential is very limited at this time, and it is difficult for the best drugs to be effective in increasing height. Therefore, the earlier the treatment for short stature, the better the effect. Research shows that the younger the child is, the more active the cartilage layer of the epiphysis is in proliferation and differentiation, the greater the growth potential and space of the child, the more sensitive the child is to treatment, and the better the growth effect.