Gigantism due to pituitary mammosomatotroph hyperplasia

Hypersecretion of growth hormone during childhood causes excessive linear growth and gigantism. Acromegaly results from the hypersecretion of growth hormone after epiphyseal fusion. Children with gigantism may also have acromegalic physical characteristics, such as enlargement of the hands and feet, soft-tissue thickening, prognathism, and coarse facial features.^{1 2 3} Laboratory findings in children with an excess of growth hormone are similar to those in adults and include elevated serum levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), a paradoxical increase in serum levels of growth hormone after the administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone, and the lack of growth hormone suppression after …