Growth hormone deficiency is a congenital or an acquired growth hormone axis disruption in the higher brain, hypothalamus or pituitary which results in short stature.
It may occur at any age.
Short stature is often the only feature present in patients with growth hormone deficiency and other causes of subnormal growth rate.
Etiology may be congenital conditions (eg defective pituitary development that leads to pituitary aplasia, empty sella, encephalocele, midline defects) or acquired conditions (eg tumors of the hypothalamic-pituitary region, cranial irradiation, infiltrative disease).
Fetoscopic laser ablation (FLP) is an effective treatment for twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in monochorionic twin pregnancies, but it requires a tertiary neonatal facility and a highly specialized team in performing intervention therapies for the treatment of potential complications, according to a Singapore study.
Serum folate levels during pregnancy correlate with the child’s neurodevelopment at 2 years of age, particularly in terms of language development, a recent study has shown. Folate supplementation may be a valuable nutritional intervention to consider.