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Role of oestrogen therapy in the management of short stature in Turner syndrome
Author(s) -
Chernausek SD,
Attie KM
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1999.tb14422.x
Subject(s) - medicine , turner syndrome , short stature , growth hormone , endocrinology , estrogen therapy , bone age , estrogen , turner's syndrome , pediatrics , hormone
It is now clear that parenteral growth hormone (GH) therapy stimulates growth and increases the adult stature of girls with Turner syndrome. In addition, oestrogens are given to almost all girls with this syndrome because of primary hypogonadism. Oestrogens influence both growth and maturation of the epiphyseal growth plates. Therefore, the form and timing of oestrogen therapy may have an important impact on the outcome of other growth‐promoting therapies. To examine the impact of the timing of oestrogen initiation on growth, a randomized trial was conducted in patients with Turner syndrome who were receiving GH. Some patients received oestrogen at 12 years of age, while in others this treatment was not started until 15 years of age. Those girls that received oestrogen later were significantly taller as adults. The single most important factor in determining height gain appeared to be the number of years of GH therapy prior to the initiation of oestrogen treatment.