Clinical profile of Laron dwarfism – experience from a tertiary care institute in Chennai

Abstract

Objectives Laron dwarfism is a rare genetic disorder first reported among Israeli jewish children, subsequently about 350 cases cases have been reported worldwide. We aim to describe the clinical profile of nine children with Laron dwarfism from Institute of Child Health, Chennai. Methods Analysis of case records from 2010 to 2018. Results Male:female ratio is 6:3. Mean age of the children at the time of diagnosis was 3 years. All children were extremely short, and mean height Z score (SD) was −7.7(0.8). All children had characteristic facies with no hypoglycaemic episodes. Microcephaly was present in four children out of which two had developmental delay. Three out of six boys had micropenis. All children had low insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and high basal growth hormone (GH) with a mean (SD) of 39.6 (11.2) ng/mL. Conclusions Suspicion of Laron syndrome should be high when child presents with features of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) with extreme stunting.