Precocious puberty is a prevalent endocrine disorder that affects children globally. Classically, precocious puberty is defined as the development of secondary sexual characteristics before age 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys and it has a clear female predominance.
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology Action DSDnet group have published recommendations for standardised data collection during clinical follow-up of patients with differences of sexual development.
A Swedish study suggests that, as with girls, puberty has shifted to begin at an earlier age in boys.
In our first edition, Professor Frederic Castinetti discussing the results of an international collaboration to study the natural history and treatment outcomes of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B, and Professor Martin Savage comments on a randomized trial of letrozole versus testosterone in boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty.
Delayed puberty is common in the developed world, affecting over 2% of adolescents, and is associated with adverse health outcomes including short stature, reduced bone mineral density and compromised psychosocial health.
Boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty achieve greater testicular growth during 6 months of treatment with letrozole than with low-dose testosterone, show the findings of a randomised trial.
