Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin!
oh hey look, a pizza bagel! Wait a minute! That's Cthulhu under there! Tricky tricky! There’s a lot that our bodies do that most
of us never have to think about. Blinking, breathing, heart beating… aging. Oh no, are you thinking about that stuff? I'm sorry! Uh,
but for some people, that last one isn’t so easy due to certain medical conditions
that make people age slower, or not at all. In the back of your head, at the base of your
skull, is a pea-sized organ called the pituitary gland. It produces several hormones that control
your thyroid activity and body temperature, among other things. One of these hormones is the growth hormone,
or somatotropin, whose primary role is to promote growth in children. It’s also responsible for the maintenance
of tissues and organs throughout adulthood. It's pretty important. It's working so hard. I mean look at it go! One out of every 4,000 to 10,000 children
born have a growth hormone deficiency - meaning their pituitary gland doesn’t produce enough
growth hormone. While these children will typically be normal
size at birth, they don’t physically age like their peers. They may be shorter with a rounder, younger-looking
face because the growth of their facial and long bones is delayed. They also may retain their baby fat around
their abdomen and have delayed tooth development. It is typically diagnosed during major developmental
periods after they miss a usual growth spurt or puberty milestones. Because of this, many teenagers with growth
hormone deficiency suffer from low-self esteem. In children, growth hormone deficiency can
be caused by either genetic mutations or due to brain damage while the fetus is still developing.,,
It can also be acquired after birth due to a brain injury, tumor, infection or radiation
therapy, in which case it is called acquired growth hormone deficiency. Adults with AGHD typically have high levels
of cholesterol and fats in their blood due to metabolism changes,, and are at higher
risk of heart disease., Treatment involves daily injections of synthetic
growth hormone. For congenital cases, these injections typically
only last until puberty, when their bodies naturally begin to develop enough of the hormone
on their own, but can also continue into adulthood if needed. Growth hormone therapy is also used for a
number of other conditions associated with inadequate growth, such as Turner syndrome
and Prader-Willi syndrome. But beyond these disorders, there is a condition
so rare, it has only been observed in a handful of individuals. This condition, recently named Neotenic Complex
Syndrome, results in an extreme developmental delay, where individuals are stunted both
physically and mentally. One such woman died at the age of 20 years
old, weighing just 16 pounds with the mental capacity of a 2 year old. While they appear to be frozen in time, people
with this condition are actually aging at a much, much slower rate. They also may suffer from other medical conditions,
such as deafness, and are often unable to walk, eat, and speak., While researchers are still looking for the
exact cause, they believe it’s due to genetic mutations occurring in the sperm or egg cells,
or in the fertilized egg, called de novo mutations., Though, because only an extremely small number
of people have this syndrome, limiting the amount of available data, it is difficult
to know for sure. Scientists hope that by discerning the root
cause, in addition to helping those with Neotenic Complex Syndrome, they will one day be able
to develop drugs that regulate aging. So, are there any other conditions you'd like
me to explore? Let me know now in the comment section below. We're taking suggestions for future videos! If you wanna know why these babies are so
muscular, but completely healthy, check out this video. and found out that at 4 and half years old,
the size of his quadriceps was over 7 standard deviations above the average for his age. as always, my name is Blocko, this has been
Life Noggin, don't forget to Keep On Thinking!
