Pituitary Gigantism
The pituitary gland is a small pea-sized gland located at the base of the brain, which is responsible for controlling growth and development and the functioning of the other hormone-producing glands. In pituitary gigantism, there is excessive secretion of growth hormone before the child reaches adolescence due to over activity of the pituitary gland. As a result, your child’s height will end up growing abnormally as compared to other children of comparable age and gender.
The most common cause of gigantism is an adenoma, which is a non-cancerous tumour of the pituitary gland. The tumour can cause excessive secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. Other, less common causes of pituitary gigantism include disorders called carney complex, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 and Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which cause tumours in tissues, endocrine glands and the nervous system, respectively. Another disease called the McCune-Albright syndrome, in which there is abnormal growth of bone tissue may also be responsible for pituitary gigantism.
Gigantism is a childhood condition that causes excessive growth in height, and also in girth, before the child’s growth plates fuse and harden.
