Orthopedics - Oleksa A.P. 2006

Metabolic Bone Diseases
Endocrine Skeletal Disorders
Adiposogenital Dystrophy

Adiposogenital dystrophy was first described by Fröhlich in 1901. Characteristic Features of this condition include progressive obesity, underdevelopment of the reproductive Organs, and pronounced retardation of bone growth in children (Fig. 89). If the disease develops in adulthood, the external and internal genitalia begin to atrophy while bone length remains unaffected.

The core pathology involves an adenomatous tumor in the floor of the Third ventricle of the Brain that grows outside the sella turcica, compressing the Pituitary Gland within the sella. Consequently, this can lead to pituitary atrophy, deepening of the floor of the sella turcica, shortening, and even disappearance of the clinoid processes, although this is not always observed.

Initial clinical signs in children differ from those in adults (Fig. 90). Obesity manifests first, followed by delayed Development of the reproductive organs and retarded bone growth. As noted above, in adults height remains unchanged, but the genitalia undergo atrophy.

Class="center">

Fig. 89. Adiposogenital dystrophy in a 20-year-old female patient weighing 148 kg.

Fig. 90. Adiposogenital dystrophy in a young male (sexual underdevelopment).

Treatment for adiposogenital dystrophy (Fröhlich's syndrome) is ineffective. The prognosis is unfavorable.



Last update: 10/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.