[Two cases of gluten intolerance presenting as dwarfism (author's transl)]

Two patients with dwarfism were found to have intolerance to gluten. The authors describe the clinical, biological and radiological signs which enable the growth disorder to be related to its true cause, when obvious signs of a celiac syndrome are lacking. In fact, a small intestine biopsy is the essential diagnostic procedure. The hormonal changes found in such patients are discussed, and include normal HGH levels, reduced somatomedin activity which becomes normal after a gluten-free diet, and low blood insulin levels in the basal state as in insulin tolerance tests.