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ENDOCRINE FUNCTION IN THALASSAEMIA
Author(s) -
VANNASAENG S.,
PLOYBUTR S.,
VISUTKUL P.,
TANDHANAND S.,
SUWANIK R.,
WASI P.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1981.tb00612.x
Subject(s) - endocrine system , medicine , endocrinology , diabetes mellitus , thalassemia , thyroid function , thyroid , urinary system , hormone
SUMMARY Twenty‐one Thai patients with β‐thalassaemia/haemoglobin E and haemoglobin H diseases, 8–20‐years‐old, were studied. These patients had received none or minimal blood transfusions. The important clinical endocrine abnormalities were growth retardation and sexual immaturity. GH secretion was found to be impaired in the majority of patients. Oral GTT showed chemical diabetes in one out of sixteen tested, a much lower incidence than in thalassaemic patients treated by hypertransfusion in the West. The mean insulin levels basally and after glucose loading were lower than those of the normal controls. Thyroid function was normal in all the patients. Serum cortisol and 24‐h urinary oxogenic steroids (17 OGS) levels were normal, as was adrenal cortical reserve in all the patients. The literature on endocrine function in thalassaemia is reviewed.