Pituitary gigantism is abnormally large growth due to an excess of growth hormone (GH) during childhood, before the bone growth plates have closed (epiphyseal fusion). It causes excessive growth in height, muscles, and organs, making the child extremely large for his or her age. Other symptoms may include delayed puberty; double vision or difficulty with side (peripheral) vision; prominent forehead (frontal bossing) and a prominent jaw; headache; increased sweating (hyperhidrosis); irregular periods; large hands and feet with thick fingers and toes; thickening of the facial features; and weakness. It may begin at any age before epiphyseal fusion. The most common cause is a non-cancerous (benign) tumor of the pituitary gland, which may cause it to make too much GH, but it can be caused by other underlying conditions (which may cause a pituitary tumor) including Carney complex; McCune-Albright syndrome ; Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) and type 4; and Neurofibromatosis. In some cases the disease is caused by genetic changes in the GPR101 gene.
Summary
Pituitary gigantism is abnormally large growth due to an excess of growth hormone (GH) during childhood, before the bone growth plates have closed (epiphyseal fusion). It causes excessive growth in height, muscles, and organs, making the child extremely large for his or her age. Other symptoms may include delayed puberty; double vision or difficulty with side (peripheral) vision; prominent forehead (frontal bossing) and a prominent jaw; headache; increased sweating (hyperhidrosis); irregular periods; large hands and feet with thick fingers and toes; thickening of the facial features; and weakness. It may begin at any age before epiphyseal fusion. The most common cause is a non-cancerous (benign) tumor of the pituitary gland, which may cause it to make too much GH, but it can be caused by other underlying conditions (which may cause a pituitary tumor) including Carney complex; McCune-Albright syndrome ; Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) and type 4; and Neurofibromatosis. In some cases the disease is caused by genetic changes in the GPR101 gene.Pituitary gigantism is abnormally large growth due to an excess of growth hormone (GH) during childhood, before the bone growth plates have closed (epiphyseal fusion). It causes excessive growth in height, muscles, and organs, making the child extremely large for his or her age. Other symptoms may include delayed puberty; double vision or difficulty with side (peripheral) vision; prominent forehead (frontal bossing) and a prominent jaw; headache; increased sweating (hyperhidrosis); irregular periods; large hands and feet with thick fingers and toes; thickening of the facial features; and weakness. It may begin at any age before epiphyseal fusion. The most common cause is a non-cancerous (benign) tumor of the pituitary gland, which may cause it to make too much GH, but it can be caused by other underlying conditions (which may cause a pituitary tumor) including Carney complex; McCune-Albright syndrome ; Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) and type 4; and Neurofibromatosis. In some cases the disease is caused by genetic changes in the GPR101 gene.
Read More
Read Less
Resource(s) for Medical Professionals and Scientists on This Disease:
Orphanetprovides GARD with information for this disease.
RARe-SOURCE™offers rare disease gene variant annotations and links to rare disease gene literature.
GeneReviewsprovides clinical information on genetic diseases, including diagnosis, treatment, and genetic counseling.
About Pituitary gigantism
Many rare diseases have limited information. Currently, GARD aims to provide the following information for this disease:
Population Estimate:This section is currently indevelopment.
Symptoms:May start to appear at a variety of ages.
Organizations:Patient organizations are available to help find a specialist, or advocacy and support for this specific disease.
Categories:CancerEndocrine Diseases
When Do Symptoms of Pituitary gigantism Begin?
Symptoms of this disease may start to appear at a variety of ages.
The age symptoms may begin to appear differs between diseases. Symptoms may begin in a single age range, or during several age ranges. The symptoms of some diseases may begin at any age. Knowing when symptoms may have appeared can help medical providers find the correct diagnosis.
Prenatal
Before Birth
Newborn
Birth-4 weeks
Infant Selected
1-23 months
Child Selected
2-11 years
Adolescent Selected
12-18 years
Adult
19-65 years
Older Adult
65+ years
Symptoms may start to appear at a variety of ages.
Symptoms
The types of symptoms experienced, and their intensity, may vary among people with this disease. Your experience may be different from others. Consult your health care team for more information.
The following describes the symptom(s) associated with this disease along with the corresponding body system(s), description, synonyms, and frequency (Note: Not all possible symptoms may be listed):
Musculoskeletal System Musculoskeletal System
19 Symptoms
19 Symptoms
19 Symptoms
Musculoskeletal System
The musculoskeletal system is made up of the bones, muscles, and joints. Common symptoms of problems in the musculoskeletal system include pain, weakness, stiffness, noises in the joints, inflammation, and decreased range of motion. Diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system may be diagnosed and treated by an orthopedist, rheumatologist, or neuromuscular specialist.
Medical Term
Accelerated skeletal maturation
Frequency
Uncommon
Very frequent
Very frequent
Always
Description
An abnormally increased rate of skeletal maturation. Accelerated skeletal maturation can be diagnosed on the basis of an estimation of the bone age from radiographs of specific bones in the human body.
GARD does not currently have information about the cause of this disease.
Can This Disease Be Passed Down From Parent to Child?
Yes. It is possible for a biological parent to pass down genetic mutations that cause or increase the chances of getting this disease to their child. This is known as inheritance. Knowing whether other family members have previously had this disease, also known as family health history, can be very important information for your medical team. This tool from the Surgeon General can help you collect your family health history.
There are multiple ways, or patterns, a disease can be inherited depending on the gene(s) involved. Based on GARD's current data, this disease can be inherited in the following pattern(s):
Autosomal Dominant
Autosomal means the gene involved is located on one of the numbered chromosomes. Dominant means that a child only needs to inherit one copy of the mutated gene, from either biological parent, to be affected by the disease.
People affected by an autosomal dominant disease have a 50% chance of passing on the mutated gene to their biological child.
Patient organizations can help patients and families connect. They build public awareness of the disease and are a driving force behind research to improve patients' lives. They may offer online and in-person resources to help people live well with their disease. Many collaborate with medical experts and researchers.
Services of patient organizations differ, but may include:
Ways to connect to others and share personal stories
Easy-to-read information
Up-to-date treatment and research information
Patient registries
Lists of specialists or specialty centers
Financial aid and travel resources
Please note: GARD provides organizations for informational purposes only and not as an endorsement of their services. Please contact an organization directly if you have questions about the information or resources it provides.
Clinical studies are part of clinical research and play an important role in medical advances, including for rare diseases. Through clinical studies, researchers may ultimately uncover better ways to treat, prevent, diagnose, and understand human diseases.
What Are Clinical Studies?
Clinical studies are medical research involving people as participants. There are two main types of clinical studies:
Clinical trials determine if a new test or treatment for a disease is effective and safe by comparing groups receiving different tests/treatments.
Observational studies involve recording changes over time among a specific group of people in their natural settings.
People participate in clinical trials for many reasons. People with a disease may participate to receive the newest possible treatment and additional care from clinical study staff as well as to help others living with the same or similar disease. Healthy volunteers may participate to help others and to contribute to moving science forward.
To find the right clinical study we recommend you consult your doctors, other trusted medical professionals, and patient organizations. Additionally, you can use ClinicalTrials.gov to search for clinical studies by disease, terms, or location.
What if There Are No Available Clinical Studies?
ResearchMatch helps connect people interested in research studies with researchers from top medical centers across the United States. Anyone from the U.S. can register with this free program funded by NIH. Researchers from participating institutions use the database to search for and invite patients or healthy volunteers who meet their study criteria to participate.
Join the All of Us Research Program!
The All of Us Research Program is inviting 1 million people from all backgrounds across the U.S. to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Researchers will use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health. This may one day help them find ways to treat and prevent diseases.
What Are Clinical Studies?
Clinical studies are medical research involving people as participants. There are two main types of clinical studies:
Clinical trials determine if a new test or treatment for a disease is effective and safe by comparing groups receiving different tests/treatments.
Observational studies involve recording changes over time among a specific group of people in their natural settings.
People participate in clinical trials for many reasons. People with a disease may participate to receive the newest possible treatment and additional care from clinical study staff as well as to help others living with the same or similar disease. Healthy volunteers may participate to help others and to contribute to moving science forward.
To find the right clinical study we recommend you consult your doctors, other trusted medical professionals, and patient organizations. Additionally, you can use ClinicalTrials.gov to search for clinical studies by disease, terms, or location.People participate in clinical trials for many reasons. People with a disease may participate to receive the newest possible treatment and additional care from clinical study staff as well as to help others living with the same or similar disease. Healthy volunteers may participate to help others and to contribute to moving science forward.
To find the right clinical study we recommend you consult your doctors, other trusted medical professionals, and patient organizations. Additionally, you can use ClinicalTrials.gov to search for clinical studies by disease, terms, or location.
Read More
Read Less
What if There Are No Available Clinical Studies?
ResearchMatch helps connect people interested in research studies with researchers from top medical centers across the United States. Anyone from the U.S. can register with this free program funded by NIH. Researchers from participating institutions use the database to search for and invite patients or healthy volunteers who meet their study criteria to participate.
Join the All of Us Research Program!
The All of Us Research Program is inviting 1 million people from all backgrounds across the U.S. to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Researchers will use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health. This may one day help them find ways to treat and prevent diseases.
ClinicalTrials.gov, an affiliate of NIH, provides current information on clinical research studies in the United States and abroad. Talk to a trusted doctor before choosing to participate in any clinical study. We recommend checking this site often and searching for studies with related terms/synonyms to improve results.
Contact a GARD Information Specialist if you need help finding more information on this rare disease or available clinical studies. Please note that GARD cannot enroll individuals in clinical studies.
Use the contact form to send your questions to a GARD Information Specialist.
Please allow 2 to 10 business days for us to respond.
ClinicalTrials.gov, an affiliate of NIH, provides current information on clinical research studies in the United States and abroad. Talk to a trusted doctor before choosing to participate in any clinical study. We recommend checking this site often and searching for studies with related terms/synonyms to improve results.
Contact a GARD Information Specialist if you need help finding more information on this rare disease or available clinical studies. Please note that GARD cannot enroll individuals in clinical studies.
Take steps toward getting a diagnosis by working with your doctor, finding the right specialists, and coordinating medical care.
GARD collects data from a variety of sources to populate its website and provide accurate and reliable information on rare diseases.
GARD uses data collected from Orphanet and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) to interpret and provide information on rare diseases. This includes names, synonyms, genes, symptom frequency, population estimates and more.
Orphanet is an online database of rare diseases and orphan drugs that provides aggregated data coordinated by INSERM-US14 in Paris.
1-888-205-2311 
