Pituitary Dwarfism

Dwarfism, is a condition, that causes an individual to have a short stature. Experts say, one whose height is 4' 10'' or less, is known to be suffering from this condition. It has been found in most cases that affected adults come in the range of 2' 8'' to 4' 8''. The treatment of this condition, although does not increase the height, but does help in reducing the possible complications. Pituitary dwarfism is one of the many kinds of this condition, which, as the name suggests, results from some malfunction in the pituitary gland.

What is Pituitary Dwarfism?

Children who are affected by this dwarfism type, appear normal at birth, having normal physical characteristics. However, if there is a defect in the functioning of the pituitary gland which might make it produce less than the required hormone for growth, the effect starts occurring when the child is between 6 - 12 years old. And from then onwards the condition of pituitary dwarfism sets in and continues to worsen. This type is different from what is known as primordial dwarfism. In the latter, the signs and symptoms are present in the child right from the embryonic stage.

Hormonal problems associated with the pituitary gland may cause this condition. Now, why it is so, is still not known. In some cases experts speculate that the presence of a tumor or a cyst in the gland may also contribute to the condition. The human cell contains 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. A certain disruption in these chromosomes, is also suspected to be among the offenders.

Symptoms

• The first symptom, as it has been discussed, is the short height
• Other physical symptoms include a trunk of average-size, short fingers having a wide gap between the middle and ring fingers, and elbows with reduced or restricted mobility
• The upper arms and legs would be short, with short arms and legs as a whole.
• The size of the affected person's head would be larger than normal. The forehead remains prominent, with the bridge of the nose being flattened
• The legs would grow in the shape of a bow, and the lower back would have a swayed shape.
• Apart from these symptoms, which are common with all kinds of dwarfism, there are some which are specific to this condition which we are discussing here. One of these symptoms is low blood sugar. It occurs due to the impaired function of the pituitary gland.
• Other severe symptoms which could occur are double vision, excessive drinking behavior, and sleep disorders.

Treatment

As this condition is due to lack of growth hormone in the body, the treatment involves hormone replacement therapy. Now it is to be known that this therapy is effective only when the child's growth plates have not come into a stage where they have been fused or joined together. So, before anything like this happens, a patient diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency should undergo treatment by a pediatric endocrinologist.

Treatment of pituitary dwarfism may entail certain unpleasant complications. These may include worsening diabetes, headache, and abnormal changes in the vision. As far as the prognosis of the condition goes, it varies for each type of dwarfism. Although, affected people may remain small in stature, they do pass through the stage of puberty and sexual maturity. But an early treatment helps reduce the risks of severe complications in the future.