Psychogenic dwarfismDwarfism is a medical disorder, the term being used to describe a person of short stature. It is sometimes defined as a person with an adult height under 4 feet 10 inches...
, also known as Psychosocial dwarfism, Psychosocial short stature, Stress dwarfism, or
Kaspar HauserKaspar Hauser was a mysterious foundling in 19th century Germany famous for his claim to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his death by stabbing, sparked much debate and controversy...
Syndrome (after the first person it was identified in) is a growth disorder that is observed between the ages of 2 and 15, caused by extreme emotional deprivation or
stressStress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined....
.
The symptoms include decreased
growth hormoneGrowth hormone is a protein-based poly-peptide hormone. It stimulates growth and cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide hormone that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of...
(GH) secretion, very short stature, weight that is inappropriate for the height, and immature skeletal age.
Psychogenic dwarfismDwarfism is a medical disorder, the term being used to describe a person of short stature. It is sometimes defined as a person with an adult height under 4 feet 10 inches...
, also known as Psychosocial dwarfism, Psychosocial short stature, Stress dwarfism, or
Kaspar HauserKaspar Hauser was a mysterious foundling in 19th century Germany famous for his claim to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his death by stabbing, sparked much debate and controversy...
Syndrome (after the first person it was identified in) is a growth disorder that is observed between the ages of 2 and 15, caused by extreme emotional deprivation or
stressStress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined....
.
The symptoms include decreased
growth hormoneGrowth hormone is a protein-based poly-peptide hormone. It stimulates growth and cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide hormone that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of...
(GH) secretion, very short stature, weight that is inappropriate for the height, and immature skeletal age. This disease is a progressive one, and as long as the child is left in the stressing environment, his or her cognitive abilities continue to degenerate. It is often seen in feral children and in children kept in abusive, confined conditions for extended lengths of time. It can cause the body to completely stop growing but is generally considered to be temporary; regular growth will resume when the source of stress is removed.
Etiology
Children with psychogenic dwarfism have extremely low levels of
growth hormoneGrowth hormone is a protein-based poly-peptide hormone. It stimulates growth and cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide hormone that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of...
. These children possibly have a problem with
growth hormone inhibiting hormoneSomatostatin is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G-protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.Somatostatin...
(GHIH) or
growth hormone releasing hormoneGrowth-hormone-releasing hormone , also known as growth-hormone-releasing factor or somatocrinin, is a releasing hormone for growth hormone...
(GHRH). The children could either be unresponsive to these hormones or too sensitive.
Children who have psychogenic dwarfism exhibit signs of
failure to thriveFailure to thrive is a medical term which denotes poor weight gain and physical growth failure over an extended period of time. Common usage refers to infancy. However, the term is also applied to geriatrics. As used by pediatricians, it covers poor physical growth of any cause and does not imply...
. Even though they appear to be receiving adequate
nutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, they do not grow and develop normally compared to other children of their age.
An environment of constant and extreme stress causes psychogenic dwarfism. Stress releases hormones in the body such as
epinephrineEpinephrine is a hormone and neurotransmitter that participates in the "fight or flight" response of the sympathetic nervous system...
and
norepinephrineNoradrenaline or norepinephrine is a catecholamine with dual roles as a hormone and a neurotransmitter....
, engaging what is known as the 'fight or flight' response. The heart speeds up and the body diverts resources away from processes that are not immediately important; in psychogenic dwarfism, the production of growth hormone (GH) is thus affected. As well as lacking growth hormone, children with psychogenic dwarfism exhibit
gastrointestinalThe human gastrointestinal tract , digestive tract, guts or gut is the system of organs within humans that takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining matter...
problems due to the large amounts of epinephrine and norepinephrine, resulting in their bodies lacking proper digestion of nutrients and further affecting development.
While the cure for psychogenic dwarfism is questionable, some studies show that placing the child affected with the disease in a foster or group home increases growth rate and socialization skills.
Cases
A case is a child who was admitted to a hospital with an extremely low weight. One nurse overtook his care and he began to rapidly gain weight and his growth hormone levels increased while the nurse was over his care. The child was so dependent on the nurse emotionally that when she left, his levels returned to that of what they were when he was admitted to the hospital, and once she returned, they stabilized once more
When a police raid in 1987 released the children held by an Australian cult known as
The FamilyThe Santiniketan Park Association, also known as The Family and The Great White Brotherhood, is a controversial New Age group formed in Australia under the leadership of the Yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne.-Beginnings:...
, one twelve year old girl weighed under 20 kg (44 lbs) and was under 120 cm (4 ft) tall. She grew 11 cm (4 in) in the following year and her growth hormone levels returned to normal.
Writer
J. M. BarrieSir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM , more commonly known as J. M. Barrie, was a Scottish author and dramatist. He is best remembered for creating Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up, whom he based on his friends, the Llewelyn Davies boys...
may have suffered from psychogenic dwarfism. His brother died when Barrie was six years old, and his mother – mourning the loss of her favorite child – neglected him for a time afterward. He was famously shorter than average (about five feet), and his marriage was reportedly never consummated, prompting speculation that he was physically immature. He is most famous for his story of
Peter PanPeter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
, the boy who never grew up.
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