What causes growth hormone deficiency?
by Admin
Posted on 21-03-2023 01:06 AM
A growth hormone deficiency (ghd) occurs when the pituitary gland doesn’t produce enough growth hormone. It affects children more often than adults. The pituitary gland is a small gland about the size of a pea. It’s located at the base of the skull and secretes eight hormones. Some of these hormones control thyroid activity and body temperature. Ghd occurs in roughly 1 out of 7,000 births. The condition is also a symptom of several genetic diseases, including prader-willi syndrome. You may be concerned that your child isn’t meeting height and
weight
growth standards. But if it’s ghd, it’s important to know that it’s treatable.
The first step in treating your child is forming an accurate and complete diagnosis. Before a growth hormone deficiency diagnosis can be made, your child's physician may have to rule out other disorders first, including genetic short stature (inherited family shortness), inadequate caloric intake, thyroid hormone deficiency, and other illnesses, including gastrointestinal problems. In addition to learning your child's complete medical history, gathering information about the heights and any health problems of your relatives, and conducting a physical examination, your child's doctor may: monitor your child's growth over a period of time review the mother's pregnancy, labor, and delivery draw a small amount of blood to look for evidence of other diseases.
January 24, 2022 español growth hormone deficiency (ghd) is a rare condition in which the body does not make enough growth hormone (gh). Human growth hormone (gh) is a substance that controls children’s growth. Among children with short stature, ghd happens in approximately 1:4,000 to 1:10,000 cases.
How is growth hormone deficiency diagnosed?
Ghd occurs in roughly 1 out of 7,000 births. The condition is also a symptom of several genetic diseases, including prader-willi syndrome. You may be concerned that your child isn’t meeting height and weight growth standards. But if it’s ghd, it’s important to know that it’s treatable. Children who are diagnosed early often recover very well. If left untreated, the condition can result in shorter-than-average height and delayed puberty.
Your body still needs growth hormone after you’ve finished puberty. Once you’re in adulthood, the growth hormone maintains your body structure and metabolism. Adults can also develop ghd, but it isn’t as common.
Gh deficiency can be caused by damage to the pituitary gland or another gland called the hypothalamus. The injury can occur before birth (congenital), or during or after birth (acquired). The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain. It’s the master endocrine gland in the body. The pituitary gland normally releases as many as 8 different hormones. These hormones control growth, metabolism, blood pressure, and other body processes. In rare cases, gh deficiency can be part of a genetic syndrome. In many cases, the cause of gh deficiency is not known (idiopathic).
Alatzoglou ks, dattani mt. Genetic causes and treatment of isolated growth hormone deficiency-an update. Nat rev endocrinol. 2010 oct;6(10):562-76. Doi: 10. 1038/nrendo. 2010. 147. Citation on pubmed alatzoglou ks, turton jp, kelberman d, clayton pe, mehta a, buchanan c, aylwin s, crowne ec, christesen ht, hertel nt, trainer pj, savage mo, raza j, banerjee k, sinha sk, ten s, mushtaq t, brauner r, cheetham td, hindmarsh pc, mullis pe, dattani mt. Expanding the spectrum of mutations in gh1 and ghrhr: genetic screening in a large cohort of patients with congenital isolated growth hormone deficiency. J clin endocrinol metab. 2009 sep;94(9):3191-9. Doi: 10. 1210/jc. 2008-2783. Epub 2009 jun 30.
What tests will be done to diagnose growth hormone deficiency?
Most children are diagnosed with pediatric growth hormone deficiency because of an initial slow or flat growth chart. Attending each of your child’s scheduled well-child appointments with the pediatrician is crucial for monitoring your child’s growth and recognizing a problem early. It can be difficult for parents to notice delayed growth because we see our children every day. That is why an updated growth chart is helpful in spotting slowing of growth and addressing it right away. There are several possible reasons for a child’s short stature besides pediatric growth hormone deficiency. Many other conditions such as celiac disease and decreased nutritional intake can cause similar symptoms.
To diagnose gh deficiency, your child’s healthcare provider needs to check for other conditions such as: normal variations of growth, such as familial short stature other disorders, such as thyroid hormone deficiency or kidney disease genetic conditions the healthcare provider will ask about your child’s symptoms and health history and about your family’s health history. He or she will also give your child a physical exam. Your child's health and growth may be checked over several months. Your child may also have tests, such as: blood tests. These are done to check growth hormone and other related hormone levels. Sometimes the blood tests are done after your child is given a substance that would normally raise growth hormone levels.
Growth hormone deficiency (ghd), or human growth hormone deficiency, is a medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (gh). Generally the most noticeable symptom is that an individual attains a short height. Newborns may also present low blood sugar or a small penis size. In adults there may be decreased muscle mass , high cholesterol levels , or poor bone density. Ghd can be present at birth or develop later in life. Causes may include genetics , trauma, infections, tumors , or radiation therapy. Genes that may be involved include gh1 , ghrhr , or btk.
Growth hormone (gh) deficiency is when the pituitary gland doesn't make enough growth hormone. Gh is needed to stimulate growth of bone and other tissues. This condition can occur at any age. Gh deficiency does not affect a child's intelligence.
Manifestations of growth hormone deficiency depend on the patient's age, the underlying etiology, and the specific hormone deficiencies. Growth hormone deficiency itself typically manifests as growth failure, sometimes along with delay in tooth development. Height is below the 3rd percentile, and growth velocity is 2 years behind chronologic age. Other abnormalities may be present, depending on the underlying defect, and the child may have delayed or absent pubertal development. Weight gain may be out of proportion to growth, resulting in relative obesity. Neonates who have congenital defects of the pituitary or hypothalamus may have hypoglycemia (which also can occur in older children), hyperbilirubinemia, midline defects (eg, cleft palate), or micropenis, as well as manifestations of other endocrine deficiencies.
Adults need growth hormone too! almost everyone understands that children need growth hormone to grow taller. For children with short stature and are not growing due to underlying growth hormone deficiency, this medication is available for treatment to promote growth and achieve normal height. Since the 1990s, it has also been discovered that adults can develop growth hormone deficiency and need growth hormone therapy for a number of very important reasons. Thus, it appears that adults, not only children, with growth hormone deficiency do indeed need growth hormone too! where does growth hormone come from? growth hormone is a small protein produced by the pituitary gland, a small dime-sized gland that extends from the base of the center of the brain located right behind the eyes.