MIDLINE BRAIN-LESIONS IN CHILDREN WITH HORMONE INSUFFICIENCY INDICATEEARLY PRENATAL DAMAGE

The relationships between midline brain morphology, anterior visual pa thway morphology and hormonal status in children with impaired growth were studied, Intracranial morphology was studied by magnetic resonanc e imaging in 47 children (14F, 33M), median age 9.7 y (range 2.6-18.7 y) undergoing growth hormone treatment (GH; 0.1 U/kg/d). They were cho sen to represent various birth sizes and a spectrum of hormone insuffi ciencies. There was a relationship between GH secretion and the morpho logy of the neurohypophysis, the pituitary stalk and the anterior visu al pathways, i.e. the greater the GH insufficiency, the more abnormal were these structures. The children with anterior visual pathway abnor malities had the lowest GH levels and the smallest adenohypophysis. Th e association between abnormalities of the anterior visual pathways an d the hypothalamo-pituitary structures map reflect a common prenatal n eural damage in embryologically and anatomically closely related struc tures.