The disease that causes the male body to "freeze" and prevent puberty

(Dan Tri) - During puberty, most boys go through a period of obvious physical changes: height increases rapidly, voice becomes deeper, muscles develop and male sex characteristics begin to appear.

However, in men with hypogonadism due to pituitary insufficiency, puberty may never occur, leaving the body "frozen" in adolescence.

The dangers of hypopituitarism

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung (also known as Mao De) is one of the typical patients suffering from pituitary insufficiency that Dr. Nguyen Ba Hung, an Andrology specialist at the Center for Reproductive Support, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital, has treated.

The first time he came to Vinmec for a check-up, Mr. Dung (23 years old) was only 1m20 tall, with the body of a 7-year-old child. At the age of 17, he went to a hospital for a check-up with the hope of improving his height. However, the late discovery and the cost of treatment beyond his ability left his dream of becoming a real man unfulfilled.

At Vinmec, he was treated with hormone replacement therapy, combined with a specially designed diet and exercise regimen. After 3-6 months, the patient's body changed significantly: height increased, skin became rosy, muscles developed, and voice became deeper.

Two years later, Dung's height increased by 20 cm, reaching 1m40, his figure changed to the point that many people who knew him before no longer recognized him. Currently, he continues to receive treatment with a personalized regimen to continue to increase his height optimally.

Doctor Hung checked Mr. Dung's height during a follow-up examination at Vinmec Times City (Photo: Vinmec).

According to Dr. Nguyen Ba Hung, the pituitary gland (also known as the pituitary gland) is located at the base of the skull, is only the size of a pea, but plays the role of a central coordinator for the endocrine system.

The pituitary gland secretes many important hormones, controlling the activity of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands and especially the gonads - where testosterone and sperm are produced in men. Therefore, in people with pituitary insufficiency, the body will fall into a state of deficiency of one or more important hormones of the body. Especially when there is a deficiency of GH or testosterone, it causes a series of disorders in metabolism, growth and development.

Hypopituitarism is a rare disease, with only about 46/100,000 cases, and the number of new cases each year is 4/100,000. However, the consequences of the disease are very severe and have lifelong effects if not detected and treated early.

According to Dr. Hung, hypogonadism due to pituitary failure when combined with growth hormone (GH) deficiency, causing dwarfism - also known as "pituitary dwarfism" often occurs from the fetal stage, childhood to pre-puberty, children often have slow physical development, are short, show no signs of puberty, have small genitals, and do not show the characteristics of adult males.

Signs of hypogonadism due to pituitary insufficiency if starting from puberty, after puberty, the patient will be like "biological castration" - the body weakens, ages prematurely, loses the ability to reproduce and seriously reduces the quality of life.

In particular, in severe cases, the disease is also accompanied by hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, prolactin-secreting tumors or craniopharyngioma... At that time, the patient not only has slow development but also easily gets tired, has low blood pressure, metabolic disorders, headaches, impaired vision, visual field, diabetes insipidus, exhaustion... These symptoms make treatment more complicated, requiring multidisciplinary coordination and lifelong monitoring and treatment.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Hypogonadism due to Pituitary Insufficiency No Longer a “Life Sentence”

Explaining the special treatment method applied to patients with hypopituitarism like Mr. Dung, Dr. Nguyen Ba Hung said that hormone replacement therapy is based on the principle of "which hormone is lacking - that hormone is supplemented", with physiological doses adjusted individually for each patient.

Thanks to that, the patient's body is "awakened", height increases, endocrine glands function normally, testicles can develop, leading to an increase in the size of the "little guy", and male characteristics appear on the body. The treatment also helps the patient improve bone density, muscle strength, cardiovascular function, spirit and psychology.

Mr. Dung continues to be treated by Dr. Hung to increase his height optimally (Photo: Vinmec).

This is a combination therapy that kills many birds with one stone: increasing height, improving health and physique even during adulthood, promoting successful puberty, maintaining masculine characteristics, treating infertility, and at the same time helping prevent osteoporosis and reduce metabolic disorders...

“Patients need to be examined and closely monitored by an experienced endocrinologist or andrologist. Uncontrolled use of testosterone replacement can cause rapid puberty but stop height growth, and even cause permanent infertility due to the testicles losing the ability to produce sperm,” Dr. Hung noted.

According to Dr. Hung, nowadays, hypogonadism due to pituitary insufficiency is no longer a “life sentence” for unlucky men. With the advancement of medicine and modern endocrine therapies, many patients have been able to develop their bodies, increase their height, and acquire the characteristics of mature men. They can completely start a family and have children.

It is important that parents proactively take their children to see a doctor when they have not yet shown or do not show signs of puberty after the age of 14, such as: significantly shorter height than peers, small penis and testicles, no pubic or armpit hair...

“At Vinmec, we have been treating dozens of rare cases in adults, helping them increase their height,” Dr. Hung shared.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/can-benh-khien-co-the-nam-gioi-dong-bang-khong-the-day-thi-20251105091041296.htm