Case study: Emirati boy, close to 12-and-a-half, looks eight’

Dubai: Emirati boy Jasem, who is almost 12-and-a-half, should be taller than his 12-year-old stepbrother.

“I am picked on at school especially during sports. I am refused entry at movie theatres because I don’t look my age,” Jasem told Gulf News.

Jasem’s mother Mariam added: “I felt so bad for Jasem when his 12-year-old brother [from another marriage] was allowed to register at a local football club, but he was refused due to his height. As a mother, I have hope.”

According to Jasem’s doctor, Hassan Ali Mundi, consultant paediatric endocrinologist at Dubai Hospital, his height is roughly that of an eight year old. Three months ago, the Emirati family from Umm Al Quwain brought Jasem to the hospital for an evaluation.

After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with short stature, defined as a child who may be shorter than the average child of the same age and gender.

“The cause of Jasem’s short stature is growth hormone deficiency,” said Dr Mundi, speaking exclusively to Gulf News.

The doctor had to rule out other causes of short stature including malnutrition, defects in bone structure and genetic disorders such as Turner and Prader-Willi syndromes associated with restricted growth.

“We are going to try our best. The parents should have come to the Paediatric Endocrinology Department when Jasem was a few years younger. Early diagnosis improves the chances of treatment,” said Dr Mundi.