Facts on Dwarfism

Particularly important to know

Despite the fact that a large number of people worldwide regards dwarfism as a specific condition, i.e. disorder, to be more precise, it is vital to point out from the start that this is not true. As a matter of fact, dwarfism is simply a medical condition. For this purpose a specific term was coined, which is most extensively used on regular basis, both in the United States of America, as well as in Canada, and that term is 'the little people'.

Another important fact to know about this condition is that it may be characterized as either disproportionate or proportionate. Having the latter in mind, it is characterized by a regularly proportionate body, which is extremely small. In the case of the former type, one or more parts of the person's body are either large or small, particularly when compared to that of an adult considered to be normal under today's height standards.

In the greatest majority of cases the medical condition in question is induced by certain genetic disorders affecting primarily one's proper development of bones and cartilage. Other cases are induced by deficiencies in the growth hormone, and this specific kind of dwarfism is known under the name of pituitary dwarfism.An awful misconception

Unfortunately, quite a lot of people sees dwarfism as a 'disorder' which is accompanied by mental retardation. But, upon a closer introspection, a person is going to come to a discovery that dwarfism as such has absolutely no connection with any form of medical complications, whatsoever. Such people are characterized by normal intellect and other mental skills that are known to be a part of every other ordinary person.

Causes of the condition in question

Given the fact that the number of direct causes of the condition in question is not at all insignificant, each being followed by a particular set of manifestations of dwarfism, it is important to distinguish them accordingly.

Achonodroplasia stands for as much as 70% of all cases of dwarfism. It belongs to the category of autosomal dominant disorders and is induced by an abnormal allele in the genome. Important fact to emphasize is that the condition in question occurs in 1 in 15.000 to 40.000 newborn children. Growth hormone deficiency belongs to the category of medical conditions that are to be blamed for the improper and insufficient production of the growth hormone.

Regarded as most frequently occurring varieties of dwarfism are spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, diastrophic dysplasia, primordial dwarfism.