Long-Term Results in Girls with Central Precocious Puberty After Leuprolide Acetate Treatment

Abstract

Aim: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is the development of secondary sex characteristics before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys due to premature activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term pubertal data and height of girls treated with leuprolide acetate for CPP.Materials and Methods: A total of 70 girls followed up and treated for CPP between December 2002 and June 2013 were included in the study. Medical history, physical examination findings, maternal/paternal height, midparental height (MPH), laboratory and radiological findings, and weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) before and at end of treatment were recorded from the patients’ records. Age at menarche, menstrual regularity, and final height/BMI were determined in post-treatment follow-up.Results: The mean duration of leuprolide acetate therapy was 21.73±8.45 months, MPH was 158.3±4.5 cm, predicted adult height was 157.7±7.4 cm, and final height was 161.3±6.7 cm. Final height was moderately correlated with height-for-age at presentation (r=0.443, p<0.001), MPH (r=0.502, p<0.001), and height at admission and at end of treatment (r=0.462, p<0.001; r=0.610, p<0.001, respectively). Two patients (2.9%) had irregular menstrual periods. There was no significant difference between pre and post-treatment BMI values.Conclusion: Leuprolide acetate therapy was shown to be effective in suppressing the HPG axis, preventing the development of secondary sex characteristics, delaying menarche, and preserving final height. There were no adverse effects of the treatment in terms of obesity or menstrual irregularity.

Keywords

• menstrual regulation
• final height
• leuprolide acetate
• obesity
• precocious puberty