Dwarfism Causes

What is dwarfism? This is a query that generally leads to some very unintelligent and crude answers, which are absolutely not warranted! Dwarfism is basically a medical disorder. According to the group Little People of America (LPA) an adult, male or female under 4 feet and 10 inches, or below in height can be termed as a dwarf. Being a dwarf does not make one intellectually impaired, as has been proven by research. Many dwarfs have normal intelligence and lead long, fulfilling lives just like their average sized counterparts. Dwarfism causes include over 200 medical conditions, of which more than 70 to 80% of all dwarfism cases are due to the medical condition achondroplasia.

What are the Causes of Dwarfism?

Most causes of dwarfism are related to genetic disorders or mutations. However, some of the causes still remain unexplained. Some of the researched causes have been listed below.

Achondroplasia: Nearly 70% of all dwarfism cases are due to the medical condition known as achondroplasia; thus, making this one of the main dwarfism causes. Achondroplasia is a genetic condition that makes the arms and legs short, in comparison to the head and the trunk. Here genetic mutation occurs during conception, when the mother's egg is fertilized by the father's sperm. In this case, the fetus receives one mutated copy of the gene associated with dwarfism, and one normal copy. In cases where both parents have achondroplasia, then the risk of passing the mutated gene to the fetus increases four folds which could lead to a fatal condition known as homozygous achondroplasia. However, there have been many instances where people born with achondroplasia have parents with average height. Although, it is known that this disorder occurs during conception, why and how it translates into achondroplasia, is still unknown.

Turner Syndrome: Random alteration, or deletion of the X chromosome during conception, either in the father's sperm or the mother's egg results in the genetic disorder known as Turner syndrome. This chromosomal disorder occurs only in girls, because one of the sex chromosomes goes missing during conception. For a fetus to be a female, it should have two X chromosomes. A girl diagnosed with a Turner syndrome will have one copy of the female sex chromosome instead of two. Turner syndrome is characterized by many physical abnormalities such as short stature, broad chest, low set ears, etc.

Growth Hormone Deficiency: Another cause of dwarfism is growth hormone deficiency (GHD). In this condition the body produces insufficient amount of human growth hormone; somatotropin, which is essential for stimulating growth and cell reproduction. This is one of the main causes of pituitary dwarfism. Growth hormone deficiency occurs due to a number of reasons, which include poor nutrition and impaired functioning of the pituitary gland.

Other Causes: As said earlier there are many unexplained causes of dwarfism. Some of them are primordial dwarfism, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasias, diastrophic dysplasia, etc.

Primordial Dwarfism: Primordial dwarfism is a rare form of dwarfism that exhibits itself much before birth. An ultrasound diagnoses the fetus as being small for its gestational age, or as having some growth deficiencies, which could be early symptoms of dwarfism. Primordial dwarfism causes are yet not known, but it could be due to a gene mutation.

This was a comprehensive list of dwarfism causes. It should be noted that dwarfism is a disorder, not a disease. Although it could lead to further complications, what is more important is that people with dwarfism should not let this condition be a hindering factor for them, as they can lead perfectly active and healthy lives, just like any of us.