Short stature, obesity, and growth hormone deficiency in pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1a

Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) is a genetic disorder caused by heterozygous inactivating mutations in GNAS, the gene that encodes the alpha-chain of Gs (G alpha s). This syndrome is associated with short stature, obesity, brachydactyly, and subcutaneous ossifications. Patients with GNAS mutations on maternally-inherited alleles are resistant to multiple G-protein-coupled hormones, including parathyroid hormone (PTH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH), and glucagon. This variant of AHO, termed pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) type 1a, is due to tissue-specific paternal imprinting of G alpha s. We investigated whether patients with PHP type 1a exhibited evidence of resistance to growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) (1), another hormone requiring G alpha s function. In addition, G alpha s transcripts are imprinted in the pituitary somatotrophs responsible for growth hormone (GH) secretion which could thereby influence GHRH-dependent stimulation of somatotrophs. We therefore hypothesized that patients with PHP type 1a may be GH deficient which could contribute to the obesity and short stature in this condition. We found that GH deficiency is common in PHP type 1a (69%) with a prevalence that is much greater than in the general population (0.03%). We propose that GH status be evaluated in all patients with this condition. Treatment with recombinant GH could lead to improvements in height in children, as well as other physical (eg, obesity, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, reduced renal function) and psychological (fatigue and diminished sense of well-being) parameters in GH-deficient PHP type 1a patients of all ages.