Dwarfism (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Little person

A dwarf is a person of short stature - under 4’ 10” as an adult. More than 200 different conditions can cause dwarfism. A single type, called achondroplasia, causes about 70 percent of all dwarfism. Achondroplasia is a genetic condition that affects about 1 in 25,000 people. It makes your arms and legs short in comparison to your head and trunk. Other genetic conditions, kidney disease and problems with metabolism or hormones can also cause short stature.

Dwarfism itself is not a disease. However, there is a greater risk of some health problems With proper medical care, most people with dwarfism have active lives and live as long as other people.

Start Here

Achondroplasia(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1204.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/centro/9388_9966.asp
Dwarfism(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/dwarfism.html

Overviews

Dwarfism(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/dwarfism/DS01012/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
Dwarfism: Frequently Asked Questions(Little People of America) - http://www.lpaonline.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=84634&orgId=lpa

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Dwarfism(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Dwarfism%22

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: 3-M syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=3msyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: Achondrogenesis(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=achondrogenesis
Genetics Home Reference: Achondroplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=achondroplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=asphyxiatingthoracicdystrophy
Genetics Home Reference: Atelosteogenesis type 2(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=atelosteogenesistype2
Genetics Home Reference: Cartilage-hair hypoplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=cartilagehairhypoplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Diastrophic dysplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=diastrophicdysplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Ellis-van Creveld syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=ellisvancreveldsyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: Hypochondrogenesis(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=hypochondrogenesis
Genetics Home Reference: Hypochondroplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=hypochondroplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Kniest dysplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=kniestdysplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Pseudoachondroplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=pseudoachondroplasia
Genetics Home Reference: Robinow syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=robinowsyndrome
Genetics Home Reference: SADDAN(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=saddan
Genetics Home Reference: Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Strudwick type(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=spondyloepimetaphysealdysplasiastrudwicktype
Genetics Home Reference: Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=spondyloepiphysealdysplasiacongenita
Genetics Home Reference: Thanatophoric dysplasia(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=thanatophoricdysplasia

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Audit of newborn screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19385494&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Youth of west-Cameroon are at high risk of developing IDD... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19357747&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Congenital hypothyroidism caused by a novel homozygous mutation in the... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19189706&tool=MedlinePlus
Dwarfism -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=dwarfism[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Medical Encyclopedia

Dwarfism - http://vsearch.nlm.nih.gov/vivisimo/cgi-bin/query-meta?v:project=medlineplus&binning-state=group%3d%3dMedical%20Encyclopedia&query=Dwarfism

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Dwarfism: Glossary of Terms(Little People of America) - http://web.memberclicks.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=67009&orgId=lpamrs

Organizations

Little People of America - http://www.lpaonline.org/
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/

Children

Dwarfism(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/dwarfism.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Growth Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/growthdisorders.html
Bones, Joints and Muscles - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonesjointsandmuscles.html
Endocrine System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/endocrinesystem.html
Genetics/Birth Defects - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/geneticsbirthdefects.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Dwarfism is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/