AUXOLOGICAL, CLINICAL AND NEURORADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN INFANTS WITH EARLY-ONSET GROWTH-HORMONE DEFICIENCY

Sixteen infants less than 2 years of age with apparently idiopathic hy popituitarism were studied. At birth, 11 of 16 patients (69%) had subn ormal length associated with relative adiposity and 10 of 16 (62%) sho wed significant deterioration in length deficiency from birth onwards. These findings suggest that: (a) growth hormone deficiency, in a numb er of patients, had started well before delivery; (b) growth hormone m ay play a role in intrauterine growth; and (c) growth hormone may also be involved in early postnatal growth. Magnetic resonance imaging in these patients was very similar to that described in hypopituitarism o f later onset. This suggests that even in the latter case, hypopituita rism may have a prenatal onset. Finally, the severity of growth failur e and the coexistence of other hypopituitary symptoms at the time of d iagnosis in 31% of our patients indicate that early clinical screening of hypopituitarism is possible.