Messi’s Disease: Growth
Hormone Deficiency
Presentation: Genetics
Think about the following questions 🧠
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What is growth hormone deficiency?
What are the symptoms of growth hormone deficiency?
How Messi managed to be treated and became a footballer?
First, let’s watch a video on Messi’s situation.
Start to 2:00
Introduction about Growth Hormone Deficiency
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Medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (GHD)
Most noticeable symptom is short height (Symptoms will be covered later)
Treatment is by growth hormone replacement.
Happens more in male than female
Growth hormone deficiency can happen to children and adults
Can be caused by gene mutation, but there are many causes
Genetics
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The GH1 gene provides instructions for making the growth hormone protein.
Growth hormone is produced in the growth-stimulating somatotropic cells of
the pituitary gland, which is located at the base of the brain.
Growth hormone is necessary for the normal growth of the body's bones and
tissues.
More than 70 mutations in the GH1 gene have been found to cause growth
hormone deficiency.
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Growth hormone
receptors (GHRs) are on
the cell surfaces of many
body tissues, including
liver, muscle, adipose,
and kidney tissue.
Symptoms
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Absence of growth
Short stature (below fifth percentile)
Absence of puberty
Headaches
Increased urination
Excessive thirst
Facial abnormalities (rare)
Messi’s case
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Less than 130 cm tall before treatment
Parents noticed no height increase at 10
Medical checkups confirmed that he had GHD
Medical diagnoses typically involve blood tests or brain scans
Treatment
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Growth hormone deficiency has to be treated by synthetic hormonal treatment
using HGH (human growth hormones) through leg injections
Extremely expensive (around 8000 HKD monthly for Messi)
Messi’s family and club could not afford it and thus he moved to Spanish club
FC Barcelona
Outcome and side effect of treatment
Children who are diagnosed early often recover very well. If left untreated, the
condition can result in shorter-than-average height and delayed puberty.
Side effects of growth hormone deficiency treatment
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Headaches.
Muscle pain or joint pain.
Mildly underactive thyroid gland (mild hypothyroidism).
Swelling of your hands and feet.
Progression of spine curvature in people with scoliosis.
Sports ethics: Is Lionel Messi a lab-created footballer?
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HGH is normally banned in sports as a performance-enhancing drug
HGH helped Messi in growth, as well as pituitary function, skin and teeth
health, vision and immunity
Think about it: To what degree should those with genetic disorders in sports be
allowed to use hormonal treatments?
Messi succeeded based on merit
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Treatment was discontinued into adulthood
Current height: 170 cm
Therapeutic exemptions for HGH are allowed
HGH was used as a physician-monitored prescribed treatment, not a
performance enhancer
Messi was already extremely talented before his diagnosis, and we would
likely have not witnessed such a footballing talent without medical aid
Thank you!