Pituitary Nanism - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment. MF.

Pituitary Nanism ( dwarfism) is a disease characterized by growth retardation and physical development associated with impaired growth hormone production. Dwarf believes the growth of an adult male is below 130 cm, the adult woman is below 120 cm.

Pituitary nanism. ( dwarfism) is a disease characterized by growth and physical growth retardation associated with impaired growth hormone production. Dwarf believes the growth of an adult male is below 130 cm, the adult woman is below 120 cm.

The main link in the development of the disease is a decrease and complete loss of somatotropic function of the pituitary gland, growth hormone inactivity or impaired sensitivity of peripheral tissues.

Symptoms of Pituitary Nanism

Growth retardation occurs in the first months of a child's life, less often during puberty. The body retains the proportions inherent in childhood. There is a lag in the differentiation and ossification of the skeleton from age, delay in the replacement of teeth. Skin is dry, pale, wrinkled;poor development of subcutaneous fat, sometimes excessive fat deposition on the chest, abdomen, thighs. The muscular system in these patients is much less developed.

With nanism, there is a decrease in the production of sex hormones( hypogonadism), which manifests itself as a lack of sexual development. In men suffering from this disease, the sex glands and penis are reduced in comparison with the age norms, the scrotum is underdeveloped, there is no secondary sexual characteristics. In women hypogonadism manifests itself in the absence of menstruation, underdevelopment of the mammary glands and secondary sexual characteristics.

Mental development is normal. Neurological examination may reveal signs of damage to the nervous system.

For patients characterized by a decrease in the size of the internal organs, hypotension( decrease in blood pressure), bradycardia( rapid heartbeat) are not uncommon. Possible phenomena of secondary hypothyroidism.

Causes of Pituitary Nanism

Most forms of hypophyseal nanism refers to genetic diseases. A large group of patients are patients with various types of pathologies of the central nervous system that have arisen in utero or in early childhood. The pathology is based on underdevelopment, cyst, atrophy or absence of the pituitary gland. Nanism can also be caused by traumatic damage to the hypothalamic-pituitary region, which often occurs in multiple pregnancies. An important role in the development of the disease is played by infectious and toxic damage( intrauterine virus infections, tuberculosis, syphilis, malaria, diseases at an early age, meningoencephalitis, sepsis), which can damage the pituitary gland, hypothalamus.

Additional factors that aggravate the disruption of physical development in the course of nanism can be inadequate, unbalanced nutrition and unfavorable environmental conditions, as well as chronic diseases( glomerulonephritis, liver cirrhosis, etc.)

Treatment of pituitary nanism

To stimulate growth, intermittent courses of treatment with anabolicsteroids.

Patients with clinical manifestations of hypothyroidism are prescribed appropriate drugs for the treatment of this disease.
To stimulate sexual development after the closure of growth zones, sex hormones are prescribed.

Patients are shown a diet with increased content of proteins, vitamins.

Prognosis of pituitary nanism

The prognosis of the disease depends on the causes and dynamics of its underlying cause. With a genetic pituitary, nanismusvomednoe treatment significantly improves the prognosis of life and work capacity of the patient. They can often perform any work that is not connected with physical and significant neuropsychic stress.

In cases where the capacity for work of patients is limited, they become invalids of the III group. With very little growth and extreme physical weakness, disability II group is established.