What happens when too much growth hormone is secreted?

What happens when too much growth hormone is secreted?

In adults, excessive growth hormone for a long period of time produces a condition known as acromegaly, in which patients have swelling of the hands and feet and altered facial features. These patients also have organ enlargement and serious functional disorders such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

What are the side effects of too much growth hormone?

Possible side effects of excess hGH injections include:

• carpal tunnel syndrome.
• nerve, muscle, or joint pain.
• swelling of the arms and legs from fluid retention (edema)
• high cholesterol levels.
• numb and tingling skin.
• an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
• growth of cancerous tumors.

Why does excess secretion of growth hormone in childhood produce gigantism?

If excessive production of growth hormone starts in childhood before the growth plates of the bones (the area at the ends of bones from which bone growth occurs) have closed, the condition causes gigantism. The long bones grow enormously. A person grows to unusually great stature, and the arms and legs lengthen.

What causes excessive growth hormone?

Excessive growth hormone is almost always caused by a noncancerous (benign) pituitary tumor. Children develop great stature, and adults develop deformed bones but do not grow taller. Heart failure, weakness, and vision problems are common. The diagnosis is based on blood tests and imaging of the skull and hands.

Why does excess secretion of growth hormone in childhood produce gigantism and in adulthood acromegaly?

Acromegaly is a hormonal disorder that develops when your pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone during adulthood. When you have too much growth hormone, your bones increase in size. In childhood, this leads to increased height and is called gigantism. But in adulthood, a change in height doesn’t occur.

What are the effects of gigantism?

The main symptom associated with gigantism is large body stature with increased height compared to peers. Muscles and organs may be enlarged as well. Physical changes similar to patients with acromegaly, including: Abnormal enlargement of the hands and feet.

What is it called when a child grows too fast?

Gigantism is a very rare condition that causes children to grow abnormally fast and tall.

Is acromegaly a genetic disorder?

Acromegaly sometimes runs in families, but most of the time it’s not inherited. Adenomas usually spontaneously develop because of a genetic change in a cell of the pituitary gland. This change causes uncontrolled growth of the affected cells, creating the tumour.

Can a child have too much growth hormone?

Very rarely, increased growth hormone levels can occur in children before they reach their final height, which can lead to excessive growth of long bones, resulting in the child being abnormally tall. This is commonly known as gigantism (a very large increase in height).

When to treat a child with growth hormone deficiency?

Children with congenital GHD are often treated with growth hormone until they reach puberty. Often, children who have too little growth hormone in their youth will naturally begin to produce enough as they enter adulthood.

What causes too much growth hormone in the pituitary gland?

Gigantism is usually caused by a non-cancerous tumour in the pituitary gland (called a benign adenoma) that produces too much growth hormone. Pituitary tumours can be small in size (micro-adenoma) or large (macro-adenoma).

What happens to your growth hormone levels during pregnancy?

Growth hormone levels are increased by sleep, stress, exercise and low glucose levels in the blood. They also increase around the time of puberty. Growth hormone release is lowered in pregnancy and if the brain senses high levels of growth hormone or insulin-like growth factors already in the blood. What happens if I have too much growth hormone?