PEDIATRICS Vol. 40 No. 3 September 1967, pp. 395-402
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CEREBRAL GIGANTISM IN CHILDHOOD

A Report of Two Cases and a Review of the Literature

Aubrey Milunsky M.B. B.Ch., M.R.C.P., D.C.H.1, Valerie A. Cowie M.D., D.P.M.1, and Elaine C. Donoghue M.B.B.S., D.P.M.1

1 Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton, Surrey, England

Two cases of cerebral gigantism in childhood are reported, and 14 earlier cases are reviewed. The major manifestations of this non-progressive neurological disorder included gigantism, macrocrania, dolichocephaly, mental retardation, characteristic facies, high arched palate, and ataxia or clumsiness.

Pneumoencephalography in 10 out of 11 cases revealed a dilated ventricular system. Normal fasting plasma growth hormone levels were found in our patients, but both showed evidence of impaired function of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in that these levels failed to rise following marked hypoglycemia. Abnormal dermatoglyphic patterns are reported and their value as an aid to diagnosis is mooted.

Both the cause and the nature of the neurological lesion remain obscure. The evidence favors a pathogenic mechanism operative in utero.

Submitted on January 20, 1967
Accepted on March 31, 1967




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J. W. Mace and R. W. Gotlin
Cerebral Gigantism: Triad of Findings Helpful in Diagnosis
Clinical Pediatrics, November 1, 1970; 9(11): 662 - 667.
[Abstract] [PDF]