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Long-standing acquired hypothyroidism can rarely be associated with precocious puberty and polycystic ovaries. The authors report such a case, which responded to the simple replacement of thyroid hormone. It is important to look for hypothyroidism in girls with ovarian masses and precocious puberty to avoid surgery on the ovaries.
A 2.8-year-old girl was investigated for early breast development and delayed psychomotor development. Chromosome analysis showed a fragile site at Xq27. Skeletal maturation was advanced. Computerized tomography of the head was normal. Pelvic ultrasonography showed ovaries and uterus enlarged for age. Basal serum gonadotropins were within the normal prepubertal range, but serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels rose during sleep and following stimulation by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), consistent with true precocious puberty. The occurrence of precocious puberty in this girl, and macro-orchidism in affected males may be a reflection of an underlying disturbance of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal function in fragile X patients.
Hamartoma of the hypothalamus represents a well-known but rare cause of central precocious puberty and gelastic epilepsy. Due to the delicate site in which the tumor is located, surgery is often unsuccessful and associated with considerable risks. In the two cases presented, gamma knife radiosurgery was applied as a safe and noninvasive alternative to obtain seizure control. Two patients, a 13-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, presented with medically intractable gelastic epilepsy and increasing episodes of secondary generalized seizures. Abnormal behavior and precocious puberty were also evident. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed hypothalamic hamartomas measuring 13 and 11 mm, respectively. After general anesthesia had been induced in the patients, radiosurgical treatment was performed with margin doses of 12 Gy to 90% and 60% of isodose areas, covering volumes of 700 and 500 mm3, respectively. After follow-up periods of 54 months in the boy and 36 months in the girl, progressive decrease in both seizure frequency and intensity was noted (Engel outcome scores IIa and IIIa, respectively). Both patients are currently able to attend public school. Follow-up MR imaging has not revealed significant changes in the sizes of the lesions. Gamma knife radiosurgery can be an effective and safe treatment modality for achieving good seizure control in patients with hypothalamic hamartomas.
Adrenarche is a developmental change of the adrenal gland that results in increased secretion of adrenal androgens. This maturational process generally begins several years before activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (gonadarche). To study further the relationship between adrenarche and gonadarche, we examined adrenarche in patients with precocious puberty and in patients with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Plasma dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione, and cortisol were measured basally and during an infusion of ACTH in 50 children with precocious puberty, 5 patients with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, 7 preadrenarchal children with constitutional short stature, 44 normal pubertal children, and 40 normal adults. Children with precocious puberty did not have a corresponding advance in the timing of adrenarche. Their basal and ACTH-stimulated adrenal androgen levels were markedly lower than those of normal children matched for pubertal stage (P less than 0.05) and were only slightly greater than those reported for normal children of the same age. Similarly, patients with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and delayed puberty had no corresponding delay of adrenarche. Their adrenal androgen levels were appropriate for chronological age. Thus, these data provide further support for the hypothesis that adrenarche and gonadarche are independent maturational events controlled by separate mechanisms.
Twenty-five children (23 girls and 2 boys) with central precocious puberty were treated with the LH-RH agonist D-Ser (TBU)6-LHRH (1-9) EA (HOE 766, Buserelin) by daily subcutaneous injection for a period of 11-18 months. Eight girls and 2 boys previously treated with cyproterone acetate (CPA, 100-150 mg/m2 body surface per day) and the first seven newly diagnosed patients received 2 X 10 micrograms Buserelin/kg bodyweight per day for 1 week, followed by a maintenance therapy of 1 X 10 micrograms/kg per day. After an initial marked increase, oestrogen (E2) serum levels in girls and testosterone (T) values in boys decreased. After a treatment period of 6-20 weeks the patients received 2 X 20 micrograms Buserelin/kg per day for 1 week and thereafter a maintenance dosage of 20 micrograms/kg per day to obtain full suppression (i.e. E2 less than 50 pmol/l; T less than 1 nmol/l). The remaining eight patients started directly on 2 X 20 micrograms Buserelin/kg per day followed by 1 X 20 micrograms/kg per day. All eight girls with menarche before therapy had no further menses. In all girls there was a reduction of palpable breast tissue. Decrease of pubic hair development was observed in 3 girls, an increase was seen in 5 girls, whereas in the remaining 15 girls no change was observed. Both boys had a reduction of testicular volume and of pubic hair.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Cranial magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 17 children with central precocious puberty (CPP) and 19 aged-matched controls to compare the appearance of the pituitary gland. Gland size was measured on T1-weighted sagittal and coronal images. The gland was graded according to the concavity or convexity of the upper surface, and the signal intensity of the gland was assessed visually. The mean pituitary volume in 13 CPP children without hypothalamic tumor (292.6 mm3) was significantly greater than that in normal controls (181.35 mm3). The mean volume for the four CPP children with hypothalamic tumor was smaller (145.0 mm3). Compared to controls, the upper pituitary surface in CPP patients appeared convex in a higher proportion. The anterior pituitary was isointense to pons in all patients and controls. Although the posterior pituitary bright spot was present in 14 controls and 11 CPP patients, none with hypothalamic tumor showed it.
An 8-year-old boy presented with precocious puberty and a mediastinal mass. A computer search showed that this rare presentation is most common with germ cell tumor of the mediastinum in children with Klinefelter syndrome. The tumor was completely resected after preoperative chemotherapy, and the patient is well 2 years after the operation. In patients with Klinefelter syndrome, germ cell tumors are 50 times more common than in patients without Klinefelter syndrome, usually contain nonseminomatous elements, present at an earlier age, and are seldom testicular in location.
One of the sequelae of idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) can be short adult stature. In this retrospective study adult height was normal in 90% of girls with untreated ICPP (mean, 161.4 +/- 7.7 cm). The height prediction made at the time of initial examination and the height age correlated with adult height. Therefore the initial height prediction can be useful in identifying those girls with ICPP at risk for short stature.
We report an estimated prevalence of precocious puberty of 1 in 5 to 6 girls with Williams syndrome (18.3%). Mean menarcheal age of 86 girls with Williams syndrome was 11.5 +/- 1.7 (+/-SD) years. Distribution of menarcheal age was significantly different from that in normal girls (12.9 +/- 1.1 years; n = 759).
A new case of gelastic epilepsy and precocious puberty due to hypothalamic hamartoma is reported. After long-term medical treatment there was no observable neurological or endocrinological improvement and the clinical outcome was poor. The authors consider that early surgery for hamartoma should be reconsidered.
INTRODUCTION: The most important complications of central precocious puberty (CPP) in girls are loss of height and multiple psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of triptorelin therapy in a cohort of girls with CPP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-four girls diagnosed with organic or idiopathic CPP and treated with monthly triptorelin were studied. Age, height in standard deviation (SD), bone age (Greulich and Pyle), height prediction (Bayle-Pinneau), body mass index (BMI) in SD, uterine size (pelvic ultrasound), target height, cranial magnetic resonance imaging, triptorelin dose, and treatment duration were studied. RESULTS: Triptorelin produced a statistically significant reduction in growth velocity and an increase in BMI after 1 year of therapy and these changes were maintained after discontinuation of therapy. Adult height in these patients was in accordance with their target genetic height, as well as with their predicted height according to the method of Bayley-Pinneau. No significant differences were found between age of menarche in our patients and in controls. Adult height in patients with organic CPP was significantly lower than that in patients with idiopathic CPP. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Triptorelin can increase BMI in girls with CPP. 2. The presence of an organic cause in patients with CPP worsens the prognosis for adult height. 3. The Bayley-Pinneau prediction method for "average" bone age is useful for establishing a prognosis of adult height in girls with CPP treated with triptorelin.
During GnRH agonist therapy of patients with central precocious puberty (CPP), growth is sometimes suppressed to subnormal velocity. The working hypotheses were that estrogen levels are suppressed by GnRH agonist therapy below normal prepubertal levels, that such suppression is responsible for the slow growth of girls with CPP during GnRH agonist therapy, and that a mini-dose of estrogen replacement will normalize growth. The present pilot study examined growth and bone maturation over 2 yr in 13 patients with CPP and compared therapy with a combination of GnRH agonist and 8 microg conjugated equine estrogen (group 1) to therapy with GnRH agonist alone (group 2). Both groups had adequate suppression of gonadotropins, and E2 levels were below detection levels of our assay throughout the study period. Group 2 patients decreased their growth velocity from 2.0 +/- 1.4 to -1.6 +/- 1.2 SD score compared with group 1, who maintained their growth velocity of 1.3 +/- 1.5 SD score and their height SD score for 2 yr (P < 0.01). In group 1 patients the ratio of the change in bone age/change in chronological age decreased from 1.2 +/- 0.7 to 0.75 +/- 0.3, and in group 2 patients it decreased to 0.6 +/- 0.3 and 0.4 +/- 0.2 (P < 0.05) during the first and second years of therapy, respectively. It is concluded on a pilot basis that estrogen suppression is responsible for the slow growth of girls with CPP during GnRH agonist therapy and that a mini-dose of estrogen replacement is safe and effective for at least 24 months in maintaining normal prepubertal growth without acceleration of bone maturation or pubertal development. The current pilot results do not suggest an indication or provide a justification for such therapy.
We review briefly the definition of central precocious puberty (CPP), and discuss early puberty and very early puberty. The association of hypothalamic hamartoma and empty sella with CPP is described. The contribution of new imaging techniques - CT, MRI and ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of CPP is discussed.
Since neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a well known cause of precocious puberty (PP), we reviewed 412 NF1 pediatric patients to evaluate the prevalence of PP, the association with optic pathway tumors (OPT), and other clinical, auxological and hormonal data. Thirty-one of 412 patients had OPT (7.5%), 10/412 PP (2.4%), and in seven of these PP was associated with OPT (7/31, 22.6%). OPT in patients with PP involved the chiasm in four patients, and the optic nerves alone in three patients. The age at the onset of puberty (or better at diagnosis) ranged from 5.2 to 7.5 yr in girls (n=6) and from 7.9 to 8.9 yr in boys (n=4). LHRH agonist therapy was used in only three children because in the others the predicted height at diagnosis was good, treatment was refused or the patients were referred to us too late. The three treated patients attained a final height within the familial range. In the untreated patients the progression of puberty was not too rapid and final height was slightly below the genetic target in four patients; however, three patients had a final height markedly below the familial range. In conclusion, the prevalence of PP is increased in children with NF1, and frequently but not exclusively is associated with OPT. Moreover, sexual precocity does not seem to be necessarily bound to chiasmatic OPT. Treatment seems to be useful in the children with younger age at the onset of puberty or with a progressive decline in predicted final height.
We studied six patients with central precocious puberty (CPP) (five girls and one boy, aged 9-14.4 years) before and after 5 and 12 months of treatment with GnRH-A (D-TRP-6-LHRH-depo, DECAPEPTYL Ferring, Sweden), and 14 age-matched prepubertal children serving as controls. GnRH suppressed gonadal sex hormone secretion and arrested the gonadarche development. Growth velocity decreased from 9.8 +/- 1.6 (mean +/- SD) to 4.6 +/- 1.0 cm/year after 1 year of treatment. Basal serum IGF-1 levels of the CPP patients were 35.4 +/- 2.8 nmol/l, which was significantly higher than that of the controls (18.8 +/- 1.9, P = 0.00007). After GnRH-A there was a slight but significant increase in serum IGF-1 levels from 35.4 +/- 2.8 (mean +/- SE) to 40.3 +/- 2.1 nmol/l after 5 months (mean difference of 4.9 +/- 1.7, P = 0.02), reversing to 35.6 +/- 2.8 nmol/l after 12 months. The number of high affinity IGF-1 binding sites on erythrocytes (RBC) in the controls was 3.3 +/- 0.3 sites/cell, similar to that found in the patients before treatment. Following therapy, the number of the binding sites decreased from 4.0 +/- 0.8 (mean +/- SE) to 2.5 +/- 0.6 sites/cell after 5 months (mean difference of -1.4 +/- 0.5, P = 0.01), to 2.7 +/- 0.7 sites/cell after 12 months. Basal levels of plasma GH in the CPP patients were 7.1 +/- 1.3 ng/ml, significantly higher than those of the controls (1.2 +/- 0.2, P = 0.00001). Treatment decreased plasma GH in patients from 7.1 +/- 1.3 to 1.3 +/- 0.3 ng/ml after 5 months (mean difference of -5.8 +/- 1.3, P = 0.003) and to 2.7 +/- 1.5 ng/ml after 12 months. The GH binding protein (GHBP) activity in the controls was 76.2 +/- 6.2% relative specific binding, similar to that of the patients before therapy. The mean basal GHBP activity of the patients increased from 75.5 +/- 7.3 to 101 +/- 6.4% (mean difference of 25.5 +/- 9.7, P = 0.01) after 5 months and to 90.1 +/- 5.6% after 12 months of treatment. In conclusion, plasma GH and its receptor activity are a better indicator of the GnRH-A effect on growth than IGF-1 and its receptor activity.
OBJECTIVE: IGF-I rises in normal adolescence and in central precocious puberty (CPP), secondary to a rise in sex steroids and GH. The aim of this study was to examine changes in serum IGF-I and its major binding protein IGFBP-3 after pharmacological arrest of puberty. PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Ten girls diagnosed for CPP were evaluated before and during the first 3 months of GnRH analogue (GnRHa) therapy aimed at suppression of the gonadal axis. Serum IGF-I was measured by immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) and IGFBP-3 by both IRMA and Western ligand blotting (WLB). RESULTS: Serum IGF-I was markedly higher in patients with CPP as compared with age matched controls (48.8 +/- 6.5 vs 23.1 +/- 4.9 nmol/l, P < 0.01). While GnRHa therapy caused serum oestradiol levels to return to prepubertal levels in all 10 patients, serum IGF-I levels decreased only minimally after 1, 2 or 3 months of therapy (43.2 +/- 5.6, 42.3 +/- 6.4 and 44.1 +/- 7.2 nmol/l respectively). Serum IGFBP-3 levels as determined using IRMA were also higher in CPP compared with age matched controls (4.70 +/- 0.37 vs 3.71 +/- 0.42 mg/l, P < 0.01). These differences were also evident when measured by WLB. GnRHa therapy caused a small and insignificant decrease in serum IGFBP-3 levels after 1, 2 or 3 months of therapy (4.57 +/- 0.33, 4.48 +/- 0.4 and 4.42 +/- 0.3 mg/l respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The lack of suppression of both IGF-I and IGFBP-3, despite therapy which halts puberty and slows growth velocity, suggests that steroids may be involved in the induction of changes in the GH/IGF-I axis but not in their subsequent maintenance.
BACKGROUND: The association of multisystem pathologic conditions and epidermal nevi, known as the epidermal nevus syndrome, includes disorders of bone, central nervous system, eye, kidney, vasculature, body symmetry, and skin. Rarely, vitamin D-resistant rickets has been observed in association with this syndrome. Precocious puberty is another rare finding associated with epidermal nevus syndrome, having been observed in 3 patients. OBSERVATION: A female infant with an extensive epidermal nevus, hypophosphatemia, and precocious puberty is described. Despite medical therapy, the patient's phosphate levels continued to be very low (0.87-0.97 mmol/L), establishing the diagnosis of hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets. At 21 months of age, areas of the nevus were excised. Laboratory values obtained shortly after the operation showed a significant, but transient, improvement in the serum phosphate level. After a second excision, maintenance of her serum phosphate level in the range of 1.29 to 1.61 mmol/L was possible. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that epidermal nevi produce a potent phosphaturic factor. We hypothesize that limited excision debulked the nevus sufficiently to allow medical management of the hypophosphatemia. Surgical intervention should be considered for patients affected with vitamin D-resistant rickets with epidermal nevi. The cause of the precocious puberty is unknown. It may be hypothesized that the nevus released a factor that induced puberty.
Hypothalamic hamartoma is a rare congenital nonneoplastic heterotopia consisting of neurons, glial cells and fiber bundles. Clinically, most patients with hypothalamic hamartomas present with precocious puberty and/or gelastic epilepsy. We report an interesting case of hypothalamic hamartoma causing precocious puberty in a young male. The lesion was excised totally through frontotemporal craniotomy and transSylvian approach without any added morbidity.