|
|
What is Gigantism? |
| | | | |
Symptoms
Gigantism is a rare condition which is caused by an excessive secretion of the growth hormone in the body. There is no exact way of determining if a person is considered to be a giant, so the term is normally used for people whose height doesn’t factor into the lower ninety-nine percent of the population. For Caucasians, those with a height of seven feet and above may be considered giants. Symptoms of gigantism include rapid and excessive physical development in early childhood, with thickened facial features, and large hands and feet which are not in proportion with the rest of the body. People with gigantism may also experience an irregular menstrual cycle, excessive perspiration with the slightest activity, a delayed puberty phase, and doubled vision.
Causes
The reason for gigantism is most probably a non-malignant tumor on the patient’s pituitary gland, one which promotes an increased secretion of the growth hormone. The pituitary mass, called an adenoma, also expands and exerts pressure on the adjacent brain tissues and the optic nerves, causing migraines and visual difficulties in the patient. Sometimes the tumor is located on the pancreas or the adrenaline glands, organs which also secrete the growth hormone. The condition may also be caused by a preexisting medical condition like neurofibromatosis, multiple-endocrine neoplasia type-1, Carney complex, or the McCune-Albright syndrome.
Diagnosis
Apart from a physical examination of the patient, gigantism may be determined early on through a series of medical imaging and lab exam. An IGF1 test affords the most accurate lab test for diagnosis, wherein growth hormone levels are extracted from a patient two hours after the latter has taken 75-100 grams of glucose. The growth hormone levels are inhibited beneath one microgram per liter in otherwise healthy people; levels which exceed this amount mean a higher chance for gigantism. Several other hormones may also be evaluated in order to determine the tumor’s functioning and its effect on the pituitary; these include the thyroid-stimulating hormone, prolactin, the adrenocorticotropic hormone, and gonadotropic hormones. An MRI scan may then be conducted to locate the tumor and to assess the status of the pituitary gland.
Treatment Info
If the tumor has a well defined mass, the doctor may recommend surgical procedures for its extraction; this is highly curative, with an eighty percent success rate. If the tumor comes in scattered masses and surgery cannot efficiently deal with them, the patient may undergo a medication program of somatostatin analogs; these inhibit the secretion of the growth hormone, and stunts further growth abnormalities. Drugs like dopamine agonists may also be employed for the same purpose, but these are usually less effective, as well as a drug which blocks the potency of the growth hormone (pegvisomant). Radiation therapy may be opted for in an attempt to normalize the secretion of the growth hormone, but the visible effects may take up to ten years to surface, and the results often come with a deficiency in the other hormones secreted by the pituitary. Radiation therapy is considered only if surgical and medical options fail.
| | | |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
