Diagnosis Of Growth Hormone Deficiency In Childhood
The most common symptom of growth hormone deficiency in children is that a child is significantly shorter than children his or her age.
Diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency in childhood. Gh deficiency does not affect a child s intelligence. To date however the cause of most of these cases is unknown. Instead medication is used to stimulate the pituitary gland to release growth hormone. Children with growth hormone deficiency typically grow less than 2 inches per year.
Growth hormone deficiency ghd also known as dwarfism or pituitary dwarfism is a condition caused by insufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body. Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of growth hormone gh deficiency in childhood and adolescence. It more commonly affects children than adults. Congenital growth hormone deficiency can occur if there are mutations in genes for factors that are important in pituitary gland development or in receptors and factors including growth hormone along the growth hormone pathway.
But because levels of growth hormone fluctuate throughout the day ghd cannot be diagnosed by simply measuring the amount of hormone in a blood sample. Insulin hormone that regulates blood sugar levels through an iv to produce a low plasma glucose a sugar level. Ghd can be present at birth congenital or develop later acquired. Children with ghd have abnormally short staturewith normal body proportions.
The diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency primarily is done with a blood test. Acquired causes of growth hormone deficiency include. Recombinant dna derived human growth hormone rhgh has been available since 1985 while availability is no longer a problem there still remains a number of difficulties with the diagnosis of ghd resulting mainly from the lack of. Gh is needed to stimulate growth of bone and other tissues.
The pituitary gland is a small gland about. If the peak growth hormone level is less than 10 mcg ml in children or less than 3 mcg ml in adults growth hormone deficiency is diagnosed. The diagnosis of ghd in childhood is a multifaceted process requiring comprehensive clinical and auxological assessment combined with biochemical tests of the gh insulin like growth factor igf axis and radiological evaluation. However a child with this condition can have normal body proportions.
The main sign of gh deficiency is slow height growth each year after a child s 3rd birthday. Ghd may present as an isolated problem or in combination with multiple pituitary hormone deficiency mphd. Growth hormone gh has been available for management of the short stature associated with growth hormone deficiency ghd for more than 60 years. The peak growth hormone level is measured 20 30 minutes later.
Summary statement of the gh research society.