Insufficient secretion of growth hormone during childhood produces hypopituitary dwarfism. Body proportions and mental development are normal, but because secretions of other anterior pituitary hormones are also below normal amounts, additional hormone deficiency symptoms may appear. For example, a child with this condition often fails to develop adult sexual features unless he or she receives hormone therapy.

Human growth hormone, manufactured using recombinant DNA technology, is a valuable drug in treating pituitary dwarfism, although treatment must begin before the bones completely ossify. The hormone also has some controversial uses. Some people want to use it to increase height in children who are short, but not abnormally so. A few years ago, growth hormone was given experimentally to older individuals to see if it would slow aging. While muscle tone improved and the participants reported feeling well, side effects arose, and the value of such treatment was not confirmed. Bovine growth hormone is given to dairy cows to increase their milk production.

Oversecretion of growth hormone in childhood may result in gigantism, in which height may eventually exceed 8 feet. Gigantism is usually accompanied by a tumor of the pituitary gland, which causes pituitary hormones and GH to be secreted excessively, so that a giant often suffers from other metabolic disturbances.

If growth hormone is oversecreted in an adult after the epiphyses of the long bones have ossified, the person does not grow taller. The soft tissues, however, continue to enlarge and the bones thicken, producing a large tongue, nose, hands and feet, and a protruding jaw. This condition, acromegaly, is also often associated with a pituitary tumor.

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