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Growth
Normal growth
Growth is an important indicator of a child’s general health. Growth can be divided into three phases:
- Aged 1 to 2: rapid growth, largely dependent on nutrition and general well-being.
- Childhood years: slower growth dependent on growth hormone, produced by the pituitary gland and general well-being.
- Adolescence: growth spurt, caused by puberty hormones (testosterone in a boy and oestrogen in a girl) in addition to growth hormone.
Short stature
Your child could be short or growing poorly because of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). When the body is unable to produce sufficient GH, a child crosses down centile lines on their growth chart in their red book. Making a diagnosis of GHD requires accurate monitoring your child’s growth rate, exclusion of other medical problems, and on occasion, detailed hormone testing and scans. Treatment involves giving GH by daily injections, but there are side effects that require monitoring by a specialist.
If your child is short but their height is within normal limits for your family and he or she is growing at a normal rate, then they are likely to have familial short stature. There is no effective treatment for familial short stature, although in USA, growth promoting treatment is widely used in an attempt to increase final height.
There are a large number of other causes of poor growth that require specialist care and include Silver Russell Syndrome, Turners Syndrome, hypothyroidism, low birth weight syndromes and skeletal problems. An increasing number of treatment options exist that either accelerate growth and/or improve final height. The success of these treatments, in part, depends on the exact diagnosis.
Turner Syndrome (TS)
TS is a chromosome abnormality affecting only females and most commonly results in short stature and non-functioning ovaries. A number of other characteristic physical features may be present. There are a number of treatment options for girls and women with TS, but this requires detailed follow-up by a specialist in both childhood and as an adult.
Tall stature
The cause of tall stature in most children is simply due to having tall parents (familial tall stature). Tall stature can cause problems, particularly at school as a child’s size can seem inappropriate for their classroom peers. Tall stature may be associated with various conditions that require specialist assessment, including chromosomal abnormalities and syndromes such as Marfan syndrome.
Growth is an important indicator of a child’s general health. Growth can be divided into three phases:
- Aged 1 to 2: rapid growth, largely dependent on nutrition and general well-being.
- Childhood years: slower growth dependent on growth hormone, produced by the pituitary gland and general well-being.
- Adolescence: growth spurt, caused by puberty hormones (testosterone in a boy and oestrogen in a girl) in addition to growth hormone.
Short stature
Your child could be short or growing poorly because of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). When the body is unable to produce sufficient GH, a child crosses down centile lines on their growth chart in their red book. Making a diagnosis of GHD requires accurate monitoring your child’s growth rate, exclusion of other medical problems, and on occasion, detailed hormone testing and scans. Treatment involves giving GH by daily injections, but there are side effects that require monitoring by a specialist.
If your child is short but their height is within normal limits for your family and he or she is growing at a normal rate, then they are likely to have familial short stature. There is no effective treatment for familial short stature, although in USA, growth promoting treatment is widely used in an attempt to increase final height.
There are a large number of other causes of poor growth that require specialist care and include Silver Russell Syndrome, Turners Syndrome, hypothyroidism, low birth weight syndromes and skeletal problems. An increasing number of treatment options exist that either accelerate growth and/or improve final height. The success of these treatments, in part, depends on the exact diagnosis.
Turner Syndrome (TS)
TS is a chromosome abnormality affecting only females and most commonly results in short stature and non-functioning ovaries. A number of other characteristic physical features may be present. There are a number of treatment options for girls and women with TS, but this requires detailed follow-up by a specialist in both childhood and as an adult.
Tall stature
The cause of tall stature in most children is simply due to having tall parents (familial tall stature). Tall stature can cause problems, particularly at school as a child’s size can seem inappropriate for their classroom peers. Tall stature may be associated with various conditions that require specialist assessment, including chromosomal abnormalities and syndromes such as Marfan syndrome.
