1. Look at the Clues in Your Child's Growth Patterns
At every well-child checkup, children are weighed, measured and have their head circumference recorded. Most of the time children's growth patterns are unremarkable, but sometimes the early symptoms of disorders such as McCune-Albright syndrome can be spotted in the subtleties of these exams. A persistently asymmetrical head or uneven arm and leg length can indicate that bones may be affected by the fibrous lesions which are a hallmark sign of McCune-Albright disorder. Children who don't show any growth from checkup to checkup, but are visibly gaining weight in the torso and face may be exhibiting signs of endocrine problems, which are also associated with McCune-Albright disorder.
2. Add Growth Clues to Tanner Staging
These abnormal growth patterns don't automatically mean your child has McCune-Albright syndrome. There are a number of other diseases that can cause the symptoms, too. However, unexpected results on the Tanner Scale, combined with growth concerns, may help you spot the syndrome early on. The stages of development on the Tanner Scale are a quick way for physicians to note where a person falls in his physical development, based on the examination of primary and secondary sex characteristics.
Until about the age of 9 or 10, when puberty begins, your child's breast, pubic hair and genital development should remain at Tanner Stage I. If, before she hits pubescence, any of these characteristics rate higher than that on the Tanner Scale, she's showing signs of precocious puberty, a second telling symptom of McCune-Albright syndrome.
3. Birthmarks Are Another Clue
Flat, brown birthmarks known as cafe-au-lait spots are seen in about half of the children who have McCune-Albright, but aren't always noted as a symptom. That's because many other children have birthmarks as well. There are, however, subtle differences in the appearance of the cafe-au-lait spots. Your child's birthmarks may end at midline (not appear below his waist) and have jagged edges referred to as the "coast of Maine." This is in stark contrast to the smooth-edged, "coast of California" birthmarks which are evenly distributed on a child's body.
4. Putting the Clues Together
Because McCune-Albright syndrome is a non-hereditary genetic disorder, there isn't yet a way to map the DNA or detect the disorder. Though researchers have discovered common protein coding in patients with the disease, the only definitive way for your child to be diagnosed is by putting all the clues together. If your child has two of the three synptoms of the classic triad (cafe-au-lait spots, fibrous dysplasia and precocious puberty) and all other causes have been ruled out, a diagnosis of McCune-Albright syndrome is likely.
