Growth hormone deficiency in salt-losing congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Cristina Traggiai.
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Puberty is the acquisition of secondary sexual characteristics associated with a growth spurt and resulting in the attainment of reproductive function. Delayed puberty is diagnosed when there is no breast development by 13.4 years of age in a girl and no testicular enlargement by 14.0 years in a boy. The aetiologies are: (i) pubertal delay, either with constitutional delay of growth and puberty or secondary to chronic illness, and (ii) pubertal failure, with hypogonadotrophic (defect in the hypothalamo-pituitary region) or hypergonadotrophic (secondary to gonadal failure) hypogonadism, or both (secondary to radio/chemotherapy). The investigation includes: history, auxological data and pubertal development examination. Boys usually require treatment and, if they do not respond, investigation. In girls it is appropriate to measure the thyroid function and karyotype first and, if necessary, to offer treatment. If they present with dysmorphic features, or positive familial history, an assessment is required before treatment.
We systematically reviewed a series of patients (n = 85) with midline cerebral and cranial malformations to correlate the endocrinopathy with the neuroanatomic defect. Midline cleft lip and palate was associated not only with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) but also with diabetes insipidus (DI); holoprosencephaly and optic nerve hypoplasia with absence of the septum pellucidum had a similar incidence of GHD and DI. Optic nerve hypoplasia with absence of the septum pellucidum had the highest incidence of multiple pituitary endocrinopathies and of neonatal hypoglycaemia. Unilateral, although more commonly bilateral, optic nerve hypoplasia was associated with GHD.