Some patients have subtle structural changes detected only by ultrasonography. Growth Hormone Excessive secretion of pituitary growth hormone has been seen in a few patients with McCune-Albright syndrome. Therapy has included surgical removal of the area of the pituitary which is secreting the hormone, and use of new, synthetic analogs of the hormone somatostatin, which suppress growth hormone secretion. Although rare, adrenal enlargement and excessive secretion of the adrenal hormone cortisol is seen in McCune-Albright syndrome. This may cause obesity of the face and trunk, weight gain, skin fragility and cessation of growth in childhood.
Treatment is removal of the affected adrenal glands, or use of drugs which block cortisol synthesis.
Some children with McCune-Albright syndrome have very low levels of phosphorus in their blood due to excessive losses of phosphate in their urine. However, the severity of bone disease in McCune-Albright syndrome is quite variable. In affected areas, normal bone is replaced by irregular masses of fibroblast cells. Regions of fibrous dysplasia are also very common in the bones that form the skull and upper jaw. If these areas begin to expand, skull and facial asymmetry may result.