Gigantism

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Endocrine glands

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Gigantism

Alternative Names:

Giantism

Symptoms:

Excessive growth during childhood.
Frontal bossing and a prominent jaw
Thickening of the facial features
Disproportionately large hands and feet with thick fingers and toes
Increased perspiration
Weakness
Secretion of breast milk
Irregular menstruation
Headache
Delayed onset of puberty
Double vision or difficulty with peripheral vision

Signs and tests:

An increase in insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels
A failure to suppress serum growth hormone (GH) levels after an oral glucose challenge (maximum 75g)
A CT or MRI scan of the head showing pituitary tumor
High prolactin levels

Other hormone levels may be low due to damage to the pituitary, including thyroid hormone, testosterone (boys), estradiol (girls), or cortisol.

Review Date: 8/12/2004
Reviewed By: Aniket R. Sidhaye, M.D., Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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