Reduced pituitary volume in children with short stature: clinical and radiological correlates.
A retrospective evaluation of 80 cases of growth retardation evaluated at the Hôpital Sainte-Justine of Montreal has revealed that 20 of them (25%; 15 boys and 5 girls) had a reduction of pituitary volume as revealed by high-resolution CT scanning of the pituitary gland. Of these patients, 8 had complete growth hormone (GH) deficiency, as evaluated by arginine infusion and L-Dopa-propranolol testing and nocturnal blood sampling, and 3 had GH neurosecretory dysfunction. Five patients had combined or multiple hormonal deficiencies. A statistically significant correlation was found between nocturnal plasma GH values and pituitary volumes. From this study it can be concluded that reduced pituitary volume is a frequent finding in growth-retarded children with hypopituitarism.
Huot
C
C
Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Que., Canada.
Dubé
J
J
Ducharme
J R
JR
Collu
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004702:Endocrine Glands / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000172:deficiency; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D013006:Growth Hormone