Biochemical Studies on Dwarfism,Hypogonadism, and Anemia

Introduction A syndrome consisting of iron-deficiency anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, dwarfism, and hypogonadism occurring in males in Iran has been described recently by Prasad, Halsted, and Nadimi. 1,2 To account for all the features of the syndrome, it was suggested in the earlier report that these patients were probably zinc deficient. Subsequently, similar patients were studied in Egypt and were found to be zinc deficient. 16 The purpose of this paper is to present results of extensive biochemical studies in such patients, to characterize more fully the nature of this syndrome, and to describe five cases in detail. Clinical Material and Methods Patients were selected from villages near Cairo. The ages, verified by birth certificate in each case, ranged from 12 to 19 years. None of them had any evidence of chronic infections such as tuberculosis, syphilis, or brucellosis. A detailed history and physical examination were carried out on each patient on