‘Satiety’ Hormone Deficiency Causes Major Growth Spurt In 18 Month Old

Shreejit Amol Hingankar, an 18 month old from Pune was diagnosed with Leptin Gene Mutation and is only the second child in the country diagnosed with this very rare condition. Baby Risha Amara from Karnataka was referred to Jaslok hospital nine months back and was the first child with this disease. Leptin is a satiety hormone that sends a signal to the brain of 'fullness' to a person to stop eating. When there is deficiency of the Leptin, the child does not know when to stop eating and starts putting on weight very rapidly.

Shreejit had unusual weight gain and was referred to Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai where the experts diagnosed this rare condition. His mother Rupali Hingankar says that the child cries and demands for food often. He suffers from breathlessness and is unable to sit or stand on his own. Shreejit, who weighed 2.5 kg at birth began piling up on kilos and weighed around 17 kgs at 10 months and at 18 months an alarming 22 kgs.

Dr. Abhishek Kulkarni, Endocrinologist and Paediatrician said that , "Leptin gene mutation or its deficiency has no cure in India. He needs to be given Leptin shots twice a day which a procured from Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, England." Meanwhile his blood samples will be sent for genetic testing to Cambridge University.

"Shreejit is already on blood pressure tablets. If not attended to at the earliest, it may lead to various other disorders," Kulkarni said.

Source-Medindia