TreatmentTherapy

Treatment and therapy for dwarfism are highly dependent on the cause. In the already mentioned familial dwarfism, no treatment is necessary per se. Even if the onset of puberty is delayed, the genetic target can be reached without treatment.

The situation is different for diseases that cause dwarfism. Deficiencies can be remedied by replacement therapies. This is important in cases of hormone or vitamin deficiency.

However, it is also important in cases of general malnutrition. Diseases that lead to secondary dwarfism should be treated to address the cause. This may be sufficient to restore normal growth.However, if this is not sufficient, growth-promoting drugs or hormones can be given to achieve a greater body length.

Some genetic diseases lead to dwarfism due to a lack of certain hormones. Here, too, a replacement therapy can be considered. However, in some cases, it is not possible to reach a parent-appropriate height if they have a normal body size.

In addition, there are diseases for which no conservative therapies lead to promising growth. This is the case with achondroplasia, for example. If the dwarfism is based on a hormonal disorder, under certain circumstances and circumstances hormone treatment can be considered for therapeutic purposes.

The doctor responsible for this, the paediatric endocrinologist, will perform a series of important laboratory and physical examinations. Examples of a hormonal disorder can be impaired pituitary function with insufficient production of growth hormone, or hypothyroidism. The drug used to treat dwarfism is the growth hormone “Growth Hormone”, which only has a promoting effect on longitudinal growth while the child is still growing bones.

The use of the hormone after the child’s growth phase is therefore not corrective. This is why determining the age of the bones by means of an X-ray examination is so important. Since the therapy can also have negative effects on the child’s health, the indication must be strictly determined by the child’s endocrinologist. Side effects include the development of pathological glucose tolerance and hypothyroidism.